


Miraculous Turnabout

by KoiDoodles



Category: Miraculous Ladybug, 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney
Genre: Blood and Injury, Character Death, Childhood Trauma, College AU, F/F, F/M, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Minor Character Death, Near Death Experiences, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Quote: Just a friend (Miraculous Ladybug), Swearing, Temporary Character Death, Trauma, a bit of angst, both missile and pess exist, getting too hype for episode 10, love square?, maybe cry, miles has a mom in this AU, some good lore, these boys are going to be so blind, trying to keep a monthly upload, you can tell that I was a marichat shipper
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:00:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 77,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24462418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KoiDoodles/pseuds/KoiDoodles
Summary: Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth seemed to be normal college students of Ivy University, normal boys with normal lives. But both of them have a secret that other people don’t have -- they live a double life as crime-fighting superheroes as Beetle Bug and Kuro Neko. Together, they use their superpowers to help the civilians of Kurain City from the mastermind of all the recent Akuma Attacks. Although they were close as a team, it would’ve changed everything if they knew each other’s identities. Nevertheless, they promise to protect the city. But if the dark mastermind takes hold of their miraculous, their wish will bring consequences that shall change the course of reality...[If you couldn't tell, this is an Ace Attorney x Miraculous AU. There are multiple reasons why these characters are chosen like this so this is my version while there are others out there. Also, check outmy Linktreefor more info!]
Relationships: Ayasato Mayoi | Maya Fey/Karuma Mei | Franziska von Karma, Itonokogiri Keisuke | Dick Gumshoe/Suzuki Mako | Maggey Byrde, Mitsurugi Reiji | Miles Edgeworth/Naruhodou Ryuuichi | Phoenix Wright, Plagg & Tikki (Miraculous Ladybug)
Comments: 30
Kudos: 79





	1. Turnabout Awakening ⋅ Part One

_Many centuries ago, the world was gifted with the powerful jewels that bestowed extraordinary powers. These were called the Miraculous. Throughout history, heroes have used these jewels for the good of the human race._

_Two of these jewels were the most powerful of all: the earrings of the ladybug, which provides the power of creation, and the ring of the black cat, which provides the power of destruction. According to the legend, whoever controls both of these two jewels together at the same time, the holder will achieve absolute power._

_However, the universe must remain in balance;_ **_for every wish, there is a price to pay in return_ ** _…_

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

The rising sunbeams gave their full radiance upon the towering skyscrapers of Kurain City, a small city nestled in the state of Japanifornia. The metropolitan beamed in the American atmosphere with a hit of an Eastern Asian accent, as it was a popular destination for many people around the world to tour and experience its unique pop culture.

The cars rustle and bustle in the usual scurry and the nearby metros rattle forward through the overhead tracks. The people pass by down below as many headed to work and their destinations. The hum of the screens, that covered most of the buildings, filled the silent air with the non-stop chatter of advertisements, gossip, but most importantly, the latest news reports on the recent crime uprising...

**_BUZZ BUZZ_ **

The phone vibrated rapidly against the hard wooden desk as the alarm continued to be repetitive for the 5th time since the first snooze. A tanned skinned hand reached over for it while the boy drew back his screen, blinded by the high brightness. He groaned as he adjusted his blue eyes against the darkness to see the digital time. 

_6:50 AM_

Dazed, his freckled face slumped back into his tired arm. 

**_6:50 AM_ **

He jolted up from his swivel chair and scurried down the floor trap door, which led towards the staircase leading to the first floor of his apartment. Passing by the living room and kitchen area, he stumbled by the bathroom while he looked at his reflection self in the mirror.

_(How can I be late? Dammit!)_

However, it was quite normal for Phoenix Wright to be traditionally in a scurry due to the fact that he would always work late at night working on his sketches or homework assignments and waking up the next morning from pulling an allnighter in his desk. 

Wright briefly examined his partially spiky hair and quickly passed his comb through his messy scruffs. He quickly headed back upstairs to his desk and shoved all the scattered papers and notebooks into his grey messenger bag, babbling on and on that he was going to miss the train. He quickly pulled up a pair of dark brown pants, and a white T-shirt, replacing his cozy blue shirt and grey sweatpants. 

After he rushed toward the hanger organizer by the front door, he scurried to put on his blue hoodie and placed his university ID, that was hanging on a lanyard, into his pocket. After strapping on his bag over his shoulder and slipping on his blue sneakers, he quickly assured that he had his childhood keychain necklace around his neck. Even though he wore it all the time, he just wanted to make sure it was there just in case he comes back... 

He frantically shook his head. _(Now it is not the time, Phoenix…)_ His keys scrambled to lock his front door before he headed towards the direction of the train station. Almost trampling by his own feet, he cut through the walking crowd and sprinted on the train platform to nearly slip through the closing doors of the departing metro.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, he slumped onto a free bench in the half-filled car. Even though he was a senior at Ivy University, he still wasn’t used to 8 am classes.

He cursed at the universe before hearing a familiar female voice, “Late again, huh Nick?”

He peered with his freckled face up to see his fellow friend, Maya Fey. They met back when he was a freshman and joined the school’s art summer program with Maya’s older sister, Mia, who was a junior. Both of them became quick friends and he was later introduced to the younger sister and all three would go explore the city together as friends, although it felt more like siblings. Now Mia already graduated and works as a professor assistant in his law class, while Maya is now a freshman at the same university.

“You know I’m not a morning person”, he rolled his eyes as Mia sat beside him, carrying a small pack of cookies and a tumbler of hot chocolate, aside from her backpack. It was quite the right time to have this hot drink as it was the early autumn season. Interuptly, Wright’s stomach growled in hunger, almost as loud as the metro rattling from the creaking tracks.

“Oh my stars, Nick. You didn’t eat breakfast either?”, she remarked as she passed some cookies to the hungry artist.

“Look, I was so busy finishing something that I had to pull an allnighter”, he justified as he munched on the chocolate chip cookie.

“For what? Homework?”

He flustered and turned away, “What? No, not that…”

The realization hit Maya instantly. “Oh, those letters again? Nick, you know he won’t respond back.”

He sighed in frustration while he leaned his head against the chair, “I know… I just… I just thought he might respond this time…”

While she shoved another cookie into her mouth, she pointed out silently, “Sounds pretty gay to me…”

Jerking away, he blushed as he rambled on, “What?! NO! I...he...” He groaned in despair, “He’s just an old friend. I just want to know what happened to him, that’s all...”

The sister sighed at his denial before sipping some of the hot chocolate, knowing very well his backstory. Back when Phoenix was in fourth grade, his childhood friend defended him from some ratty kids bullying him in a dark alley. Later, another boy, Larry Butz, also came to the rescue, and eventually, all three of them became great friends. Playing video games together, playing tag, whatever these youngsters enjoyed that time. Even have matching keychains of their favorite television cartoon, Signal Samurai, each with their coordinated colors: blue, yellow, and red. However, the friend never came back to class after that year in which he apparently moved to Germany. 

At least, that was what Phoenix told her, very resistant to reveal the whole story. But he did tell her that every month, he would mail a letter to his friend with high hopes that he would communicate back. Although, he never did.

“Oh, looks like we’re here”, Maya exclaimed as the train began to halt at their stop.

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

It felt unnatural for Miles Edgeworth to be walking around Ivy University’s campus with other people around. Not only that but he felt underdressed with his white button-up shirt, brown vest, maroon pants, black dress shoes, and tie. Alongside him was his adoptive younger sister, Franziska von Karma. She was dressed in a casual black and white business suit with a turquoise bow around her neck, also pinning her silver-blue hair in a low bun.

“Little brother, I don’t see the reason to wear such a foolish tie”, she huffed at his deep red tie. “At least have one that matches your pants.”

“Unfortunately, it is my choice to wear it, especially today”, he defended while clutching the strap of his brown leather backpack. He usually would have agreed on Franziska’s fashion advice, however, it was his father’s tie; it felt like the right moment to have his parents by his side right now…

“As you can see to our right, this is our library which includes the city's greatest archive museum that holds many things from history, including a famous portrait of the royal family.”

Under Miles’ guardian, Manfred von Karma’s request, the school has placed one of their model students, Dick Gumshoe, who is also senior to be their escort to their classes. Although, the boy insisted on showing them around campus. He dressed up like most of the kids on campus, consisting of a high collar jacket, a school spirit t-shirt, some blue jeans, headphones, and some red sneakers. Although, it was clear enough for the both of them that he was in the poor college student percentage of the student population.

“It is quite obvious that it is a library”, the sister snapped with her voice sounding like a strike of a whip while she nudged her head at the stone sign that was placed in front of the building, “How foolish of you to think we can’t read.”

Gumshoe apologized, “Sorry, pal. I just-”

She cut him, however, “How dare you to speak before I was finished!”

Miles groaned while they continued the rest of their tour. Even though this is the first time they went back to school, they’re both not as comfortable interacting with other people as they were homeschooled in Germany during the majority of their lives. However, he did admire the calm scenery as he looked around the campus field of trees as the living leaves beaming from its branches, dancing against the warm breeze.

As they passed around the corner, Gumshoe explained some of the new rules that the city specifically instructed them to do.

“Ever since the recent attacks-”

“What attacks?”, Miles asked, being a bit concerned about the meaning.

“Oh, you see, there has been a crime uprising for a least 9 months now”, he explained, “Apparently, there are people that are turned into monsters, super-villains really. Usually, the only crime they did is robbery but the city isn’t taking any risks so they placed these rules for everyone’s safety. These crimes are called the Akuma Attacks and would warn everyone here with an Akuma Alert.”

He continued, “What’s so strange was that these people with these powers would run away from the scene but when they are confronted by the police, they are in their regular selves and wouldn’t remember what happened.”

“Why would anyone call these incidents an Akuma Attack? Such a foolish name”, Franziska remarked.

“Well, whenever the police would corner them, there would be a single dark purple butterfly flying away. The media has been calling them Akumas since this type of butterfly never existed except for some that were sighted in Europe.”

Miles stroked his chin in wonder, “Question is what would happen if you become a target?”

Gumshoe shrugged, “No one knows. These targets that are in police custody testified that they couldn’t remember anything except for that dark butterfly and a dark voice whispering to them.”

Miles began to wonder why the mastermind behind all this would be targeting these types of people. However, a familiar voice interrupted his thoughts, “Miles?”

Stopping, he turned to see a spikey-haired man looking up at him with bewildered blue eyes while sitting on a park bench with a black-haired girl sitting next to him and had a sketchbook in his hand. He slightly squinted his brows, trying to remember why he looked so familiar until it came to him, widening his gray eyes in surprise. _(Phoenix Wright?)_

The man stumbled to his feet from shock as he tried to examine Miles’ face. “M-Miles? Is that you?”

Miles himself began to tremble as he tried to yield away while Franziska asked grimly, “How do you know my brother, Miles Edgeworth?”

Ignoring the question, the artist tried to reach out for Miles’ shoulder with his hand to confirm what he was seeing but he held back and asked softly, “Do you remember me? It’s me, Phoenix Wright...”

Then out of the blue, Miles spun his heel and ran off while the group was left in confusion and worry. He ran so fast that he didn’t realize how far he went. He reached one of the school's public bathrooms and locked himself in a men’s stall. Trembling, he slumped against the door, hugging his knees against his chest. _(I can’t face him...not like this…)_ He buried himself, reciting in his head how his guardian would scold him for his actions: _Don’t show weakness...don’t show weakness...don’t show weakness..._

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

Flabbergasted, Phoenix couldn’t believe his eyes that his childhood friend came back, right in front of him, after all these years.

“You!”, Franziska interrogated firmly before repeating, “How do you know Edgeworth?”

“I..I was one of his friends…”

She huffed, “ _Friend?_ Can’t you see that he clearly doesn’t want to face you? You obviously hurt him in some way!”

Maya stood up in his defense, “Nick would never hurt anyone, especially Edgeworth!”

The sister backed off but didn’t flinch, “You shall never face my little brother ever again.” She and Gumshoe decided to go look for him while Maya saw Phoenix resenting his shoulders.

“Nick? Are you okay?”

Clutching himself, he wondered if Miles was hurt by something while his chest tightened by guilt. _(Was it my fault? Did I hurt him somehow?)_ But he also thought how different Miles looked than he was when they were kids. He looked so thin and pale while a fog of coldness loomed over him, compared when they were kids when he was shy but bright, on special occasions, he would put a warm smile…

“Something’s not right...I can feel it.”

“But Nick, you heard what she said. How are you supposed to even talk to him if he isn't allowed?”

He pondered for a bit until both of their cellphones buzzed. It was an Akuma Alert, ushering convenient citizens in the area to return to their homes while the attack was striking uptown.

“Well, it looks like we would have to talk about it later”, Phoenix uttered.

After a short trip back home on the metro, he slumped back into his apartment. Dropping his messenger bag and sinking on his living room couch, he turned on the television, switching the channel to the local news.

“...it has been confirmed that Kurain City has been attacked by yet another supervillain. The police have been struggling to keep the situation under control. Kurain is asking for all civilians to stay at home for everyone’s safety as the villain is a robber, searching apparently for gold...”

Speaking of gold, he reached into his shirt’s collar and pulled out his necklace. It was his Signal Blue keychain attached to a golden chain. He remembered that day when his childhood friend, Larry, got them keychains of the 3 main characters of their favorite cartoon, Signal Samurai. He also remembered the first day when he became friends with Miles, who bashfully confessed that he didn’t watch cartoons, in which it led Phoenix and Larry convincing him to watch one episode. Afterward, all three of them would talk about it, even though Miles was a bit embarrassed about seeing the show but still enjoyed talking about it.

He sighed at his rambling thoughts. _(Miles, what happened to you?)_ Another buzz from his phone interrupted him, showing a text from Maya that she was safe at home. _(Well at least she’s home with her sister.)_ Without looking, he tossed the phone on the nearby glass coffee table, however, it hit with something hard before flipping onto the table. He peered down to see a small wooden box, weirdly shaped as a hexagonal prism with a red painted design on the lid, contrasting brightly against the black wood.

“What’s this doing here?”

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

After Franziska and Gumshoe found him in the bathroom stall, the Akuma Alert urged them to return back home in the von Karma mansion. Franziska demanded to know what was the commotion back there about, but instead, he locked himself in his giant room. He needed some space.

While sitting in his desk chair, he glanced at the small chest that was pushed against his wardrobe. Without thinking, he walked over to it to kneel down and open the chest and decided to go over the things that the rescuers were able to cover from the incident, looming it full of faded nostalgia...

Neatly arranged in varied sized boxes, he picked the top one, a small and red box. It revealed his father’s defense attorney badge. It made him remember how he had admired his father, who was a great defense attorney, and how he would defend people in court. Even though his guardian who was the exact opposite, a prosecutor, couldn't help but bring some of that admiration back. After setting the red box aside, he grabbed a large blue box that was placed in the corner of the chest. 

It was his mother’s polished violin. His mother loved classical music and played the violin and piano. There would be occasional times when she would teach him how to treble his fingers along the violin’s neck while pressing the bow on the strings. However, he couldn’t play music at all, as he was told by his guardian that _“music is only a distraction to your work”_. Still, he was tempted to play it as he traced his fingers along the silent strings. 

Carefully closing the both of the boxes and putting them away, he caught a glimpse of another box in there and pulled it out. It was his mother’s gift from their last Christmas together. It was a black felt box adorned with a silver silk ribbon, tied into a neat bow. He sighed, remembering what his mother told him that day:

_“Here Miles, I have a present for you. But you can’t open it until you turn 18.”_

_“Why mother?”, the young boy asked._

_“Because the thing inside requires a lot of responsibility.”_

He remembered the motherly touch cupping his cheek, her green eyes peering him with warm affection for her son.

_“And by then, you’ll be a strong man, my little boy...”_

Shutting the chest, he sat down on his bedroom couch, figuring out his thoughts while holding the mysterious box. Even though he was way past 18, he hesitated to pull the ribbon. Of course, it was what she would’ve wanted him to do but guilt began to form in his eyes. He would constantly fall in despair on some occasional nights after a repeated nightmare, blaming himself that both of his parents died in that house fire and how he was the only one left alive. But somehow a motherly voice in his head is telling him that it wasn’t his fault and that he can open it when he feels that the time was right.

Letting out a deep breath, he slowly pulled the ribbon, unraveling the bow, all was left was the box...

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

Both of the boys open their boxes, revealing each container with jewelry before blinding both of them with bright light. After shielding their eyes by it, their eyes widen to see a mysterious floating creature right in front of them.

Startled by the red creature, Phoenix jumped in terror behind his couch while yelling, “AAAAAAHHHHHHH! HELP! IT’S A GIANT BUG! A MOUSE! A BUG MOUSE!”

The creature tried to assure the terrified artist with her gentle female voice, “Everything’s okay! Don’t be scared.”

However, he proceeded to throw some notebooks at it while freaking out, “AAHH! BUG MOUSE TALKS!”

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

Meanwhile, Miles was quite astonished to see the black creature that was floating right in front of him, resembling a lot like a small cat. Of course, he was startled as well but somehow, he felt that he recognized it from somewhere. The creature yawned from it seemed to be from a long slumber but the creature’s eyes widened in the sight of the boy.

“M-Miles?”, the creature stammered.

Confusion laying on his face, Miles nodded, “Yes...that’s me?” _(How does it know my name?)_

The creature looked around his surroundings before asking the boy how old he was.

“I’m 21…”

“What? It pasted 12 years?”, the creature exclaimed before searching around some more as if he was looking for someone, “I can’t sense…”

Miles finally questioned, “What are you?”

The creature was still startled but answered him, “I’m a kwami. My name’s Plagg. The ring gives you the power of destruction, got that?”

The boy shook his head, still confused.

“Listen, kid, I’m a bit hungry after all those years. Do you have any food around here?”

Miles was a bit hesitant towards the kwami but asked, “What _do_ you eat?”

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

On the other side of the city, Phoenix was running out of things to throw.

“Listen, Phoenix. I know that it seems a bit strange to you...”

Quickly, he went to grab a glass from the kitchen counter that was 3 feet away from him and jumped at the creature, trapping her inside.

“Okay, if that makes you feel safer...”, the creature mumbled from inside the cup.

“What are you?”, Phoenix interrogated, “And how do you know my name?”

The creature introduces herself, “I’m a kwami and my name is Tikki. Now just let me explain: as you know, the crime uprising of the Akuma Attacks is destroying the peace of your city. A wise person that knows you very well trusted you with the ladybug earrings. It grants you the power of creation.”

“But why me?”

The kwami yielded back to that question but replied, “You must trust me. When the time is right, I’ll reveal everything but for now, you are capable of stopping these attacks.”

“No. There is got to be a mistake! The only superpower _I_ can have is super clumsiness”, Phoenix explained as he lifted the glass up to free Tikki. “Hmm...I know! Maya! She’s my friend. I think she would...she always loved action and superheroes! She’ll be totally up for the job!”

But Tikki shook her small head, “Phoenix, you are chosen for this. You have to trust me.”

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

For the time being, Miles listened to Plagg while the kwami munched on some camembert cheese.

“So you give me superpowers?”

“Yup! That’s the point!”

The boy thought for a while before explaining, “But what about my guardian? This is considered very risky if he finds out I’m gone.”

After swallowing his last munch, Plagg insisted, “First off, you must never tell _anyone_ that I exist. And second, you would just have to become smarter to come up with excuses.”

“But what’s good to be a superhero if I’m trapped here in my own house?” After all, there are a lot of strict house rules ever since he has been under custody.

“No good. That’s why it’s all going to change soon, only if you’re willing to change that is.”

Miles pulled out the black ring from the box before it turned silver within his touch. He flashed back to his father who defended for all those who were innocent in cases. His father would’ve wanted him to defend the city, rescuing all those poor victims in the hands of these attacks.

He peered out his large window with determination in his eyes. There are people out there who might lose their friends and loved ones, like what happened to him. Placing the ring through his right index finger, he promised that he would defend anyone to prevent anyone from falling into the same fate as him, isolation and despair.

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

In the meantime, Phoenix put the red earrings on his ears, glad that he had pierced them before this moment.

“So I have to break the object where the Akuma is hiding?”, he questioned while the earrings turned black into camouflaged form.

Tikki nodded.”Yes, which must be captured.”

“Got it, captured. And what’s that charm thing again?”

“Your Lucky Charm, it’s your secret superpower!”

The artist groaned. “This is going too fast, Tikki! I...I’m not sure that I’ll be able to pull this off!”

The kwami reassured him, “You can always look in the user’s guide in your yoyo while your bug form.”

Still, Phoenix trembled. 

“Trust yourself, Phoenix! Just say ‘Spots On’!”

Phoenix asked, “‘Spots On?’”

But then a light flashed around him as an invisible gust of wind swirled around him. Tikki was sucked into his earrings while he yelped, “WOAH! WHAT'S HAPPENING?!” 

His earrings beamed back into its original form, flashing out its five navy blue spots. As quickly as he said the phrase, a whole red and blue suit replaced his original clothes. He quickly went to the bathroom to examine himself in the mirror. He felt awkward about how his suit looked but somehow that was what he imagined anyway. _(I guess my suit is created by my imagination...)_

He peered down to find around his waist was a spotted yoyo. Placing it on the palm of his hand, he pressed the center spot in which opened up like a flip phone.

Remembering what Tikki advised him, he gave a quick glimpse through the user's guide while he headed up for upstairs before catching a peek of the TV. It was a broadcasting helicopter chasing down the perpetrator, dressed in a weird purple and orange suit, jumping around the roofs of the towering buildings. But what got him off guard was that in the corner of the screen, hidden by the news’ logo, was a familiar person. He gasped, _(Larry?)_ And sure enough, it was Larry on his bicycle, yelling at the criminal for some reason. _(He’s going to get himself hurt if he gets too close…)_ He quickly fled up the stairs to his bunk bed, which had an overhead skylight latch, leading to his rooftop balcony. 

Overlooking the whole city, he gripped his fists on the balcony rail. _(It’s now or never…)_

“I guess I use this yoyo...”, Phoenix questioned himself as he launched the yoyo to a nearby building, wrapping itself around a pole on top of the roof, like a grappling hook.

He yanked the string from his end, in hopes that it would have mercy for his fear of heights. But the yoyo pulled him out of the balcony and into the air, his face drained out of color, yelling in terror while he swung through the rapid wind in his face.

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

Plagg asked the determined boy, “So you want the job or not?”

Miles nodded slowly, full comprehension. Quickly, he went to his desk, wrote a short note, and placed it with tape outside his door. _(I hope that was enough for anyone to be convinced that I’m showering…)_

Plagg exclaimed while stretching a bit, “Alrighty then! Welp, it’s been a long time since...” He stopped with full remorse in his green eyes.

Concerned, Miles asked, “...Since what?”

The kwami stumbled while he faced the boy, “N-Nothing… Anyway, when you transform, your suit would be designed the way you want to look like. It really interprets a lot from your personality.”

Miles nodded again.

But then Plagg jolted up in the air suddenly with joy, ”Oh, Tikki’s awake! My Sugarcube is back...”

“Who’s Tikki?”

“The kwami of the ladybug miraculous. Apparently, now you’ll have a new partner”, he explained before mumbling, “I’m going to have to talk to her then…”

The kwami continued, “Anyway, say ‘Claws Out’. That’s how you transform.”

With full confidence, Miles held his head high.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

**“Plagg, Claws Out!”**

With the swift of magic passing through him while Plagg was sucked into his now black ring, he flashed his hands over his face and hair, constructing his black mask and cat ears. The rest of the electrifying magic created his black leather suit with steel gray decals, knee-high boots, a single golden bell around his neck with a three-layered cravat hanging under it. Lastly, a belt wrapped him around his waist with a silver baton attached to it.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

With the process complete, he examined himself. _(This is so weird...but somehow I like it…)_ Reaching the back of his head, he realized that his hair had grown a bit and tied in a low ponytail. One of the bangs that he combed back sprang back, identical like the other. He felt exceptionally proud of how it turned out. Opening his large window and grabbing his stick from his belt, he extended it out and propelled himself out into the air. With the wind pasting through his hair, he felt something that he has never felt for a long time: freedom...

After running along the roofs of the buildings, he decided to experiment a bit with his stick. By pressing the pad button of the paw icon and flipping it into the air, the baton extended in between 2 buildings until it became a sturdy tightrope. 

Miles cautiously tightrope across the stick wondering, “I wonder if I have night vision like what cats do...” And suddenly, his crystal gray lens that matched his eye color turned neon green as well as his gray decals on his suit. _(Quite impressive…)_

After deactivating them, he continued walking until he reached halfway. “From what I can gather so far, apparently these boots are capable of sticking against walls and poles.”

But something disrupted him: a scream. Looking up towards its direction only to see a terrified man in red flying through the air before falling towards him. In a blur, they both crashed onto one other while the mysterious man’s yoyo tangled around them and Miles’ baton, leaving both of them swinging upside down and tangled by the yoyo’s string, around a few feet off the ground. While the rapid swinging slowed down, Miles refocused his dizzy eyes to see the groaning person in front of him. It was another guy, around his age from what he predicted, dressed up in a red and deep blue suit with dark polka dots. His scruffy hair is dark brown with a rebellious strand of hair standing out with the tip of it dyed red.

After the man gained consciousness, he flinched in surprise but couldn’t move much since they’re both tight up. He melted into an apology, “I-I’m sorry! I didn’t do it on purpose.” After the man finally found his end of the yoyo, he yanked it, dropping both of them into solid ground.

Nevertheless, Miles quickly stood and tried to help the flustered stranger up but he insisted that he can do it himself. Awkwardly, Miles didn’t know what to do but instead, he decided to show his real self since no one can judge him, a great advantage of being under his mask. He introduced himself, “I presume you’re the partner my kwami told me about. I’m...hmm...Kuro Neko! And you?”

The man struggled to break his yoyo free from Miles’ stick while he stammered, “I’m-er-” Until the yoyo and the stick brokes free and both dropped on top of Miles’ head. While Miles’ groaned, the man muttered another apology once more, “...Madly clumsy. I’m so clumsy. Sorry about that...”

Rubbing his head to soothe his bump, Kuro insisted, “No need to apologize, I’m just starting to learn about this as well.”

But off in the distance, a few wails of passing sirens and the rapid whirling of an overhead helicopter zooming by. Instinctively, Kuro picked up his baton before extending it to launch himself to another roof of a building, towards the direction of the commotion.

The man called out to him, “Wait, where are you going?”

“Well, to save Kurain City, right?”, Miles responded before leaping away.

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

Pondering in thought, Phoenix definitely didn’t have the same confidence as Kuro Neko while he gripped his red yoyo. Trust yourself, he reminded himself while he swung after Kuro in which he immediately regretted having faith as he screamed once again.

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

The local sports stadium has been closed down as the police evacuated the area from causing any risks to public safety.

The thief has piled a lot of assorted gold objects as his final base, enjoying his riches with greed. As he stood up high on his pile, he announced in pride, “At last, with all this gold, I don’t have to work as a newspaper salesman anymore!”

“Hey!”, an angry voice yelled from below, “You better give my clock back or I swear I’m going to do something about it!”

Down below was Larry Butz, Phoenix’s childhood friend since grade school. Luckily, Miles and Phoenix have made it to the stadium. The supervillain grabbed a silver pole that was sticking out from the pile and with its touch, it turned into gold.

“With the power with all this gold, I have the golden touch within my grasp”, he announced as he slid down the glittering slop, “Now, young boy, you would make a perfect statue for me.”

The man cornered Larry into a corner until Kuro launched himself in between them to defend the victim.

Kuro chimed, allowing Larry to flee for the exit, “Consequently, you have a new challenger now.”

“Well well, we were expecting you…”

_(We?)_ Miles wondered until the thief's pole barely swung just a few hairs from his face. They sword fight across the cluttered field of gold, their sticks clashing against one another. However, Miles was getting tired.

“Where are you, partner?”, he called for Phoenix. Until suddenly, his baton was struck out of his hands, flying to the other side of the field. With nowhere to run, he was trapped.

But somehow, Wright felt petrified, as his whole body was turning into ice, shivering at the horrible sight. He clutched himself until Larry yelled out for support from outside the stadium while he was escorted out by police, “What are you waiting for, super red bug? The world is watching you!”

Phoenix’s heartbeat thumped in his ears until full determination hit him. 

Gripping his yoyo, he jumped and launched it around the thief. After landing between the pair, he proudly remarked, “Animal cruelty? How shameful!”, before launching the thief into the mountain of gold. With another swing of his yoyo, he grabbed Kuro’s baton and gave it back to him.

“Sorry for taking so long...”

Kuro shook his head, “No worries. But now we have to come up with a plan. All we know is that with all that gold, he can turn us into statues with a single touch.”

Phoenix pondered, “So all we have to do is get rid of the gold but we need to find out where the Akuma is possessing the object.”

“It would have to mean that we have to use our powers. Apparently mine as the power to destroy anything I touch, however, I only got one shot of it.”

“Well, I’m not sure about mine but we’re about to find out...”

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

**“Lucky Charm!”**

With the flick of his wrist, his yoyo was launched into the air as magic ladybugs swirled above it, constructing the object needed for the task.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

A polka-dotted jar of taffy landed on his hands while both of them stared in confusion.

Miles asked, “Taffy? Is it like some sort of puzzle?”

“My power gives me whatever we need to defeat the villain so maybe...”, he figured.

The supervillain grimly stood up from the crash, “Now I’ll have two new statues to collect.” He flipped a small card from his suit pocket onto the ground below him which turned him intangible, sinking through the pile before turning normal again. With a swift pick up of his card into his pocket, he walked towards them.

Phoenix caught the realization, “He can go through things with that card; that’s where the Akuma is.”

He looked around for clues:

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

Pile of gold

The card

Kuro Neko

The taffy

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

“I got it, but we only got 4 minutes left before I turn back into civilian form. You would have to use your power to destroy the gold pile, that way he can’t turn us into statues. Distract him until I’ll do the next phase.”

Kuro nodded in comprehension. “Now it’s my turn...”

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

**“Cataclysm”**

Black energy whirled around his single fist, bubbling for destruction.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

Phoenix whirled his yoyo as a shield to face the thief and Kuro leaped toward the mountain. With a single touch of his hand, the gold rapidly turned into dust, crumbling down into the ground.

As the thief was pushed back, Kuro joined Phoenix, right next to him. While Kuro used his stick to fence the thief, Phoenix quickly opened the jar. With one full leap, he spilled all the fluid taffy on the thief while he was holding the pole. 

With the sticky taffy sticking on him, the thief couldn’t grab his card to flip it in any direction. Phoenix quickly grabbed the card from his pocket and broke it in half, letting out the dark butterfly. He let out a breath of relief that the battle was over, however, when he felt like he was forgetting something…

Dark purple energy swirled away from the collapsed thief, transforming him back to its normal form. Miles stared at awe for Phoenix’s brilliance. _(That man is amazing…)_ Phoenix peered down at the card again, returning back how it was before: a regular business card. Kuro walked over to his partner while the civilian was taken into police custody.

“It was incredible, Mister...Uh...Bug. You did it!”

Phoenix chuckled, “We both did it, partner.”

He raised his hand for a high five while Miles let out his hand for a handshake. Awkwardly, they flustered until they finally decided to end this battle with a fist bump:

**“Pound it!”** , they said in unison.

Just after the police took the thief away for interrogation, a swarm of the press began to flood into the field. Both of their jewels beeped in warning of their time limit.

“Unfortunately, WonderBug, this is where we part ways for now...”, he farewelled with a bow before leaping away in the air with his stick, leaving his partner waving goodbye.

Phoenix threw his yoyo to another antenna from a nearby skyscraper until the quickest reporter came to him first before he could leave.

She greeted, “Hello, I’m Cindy Stone from Channel 9. I have some questions for you: Are you guys going to protect Kurian City from now on? How did you get your powers?”

Flustered, he backed away for a bit from all the attention until the reporter asked, “What’s your name?”

He thought for a bit before responding, “Umm...Beetle Bug. Call me Beetle Bug.” And with that, he swung away, leaving the press to capture his final frame of him.

  
  


\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

The press swamped the media around the newest superheroes of the city as many cheered in amazement and hoped that these attacks would soon come to an end.

“Thanks to this footage of our newest intern, we now know the identities of our heroes…”

As Phoenix watched the news report from his living room, he gleamed in pride.

“I did it, Tikki!”, he exclaimed.

“See? You were up to it!”, she congratulated him while she munched on her favorite food, cookies, to recover her strength back.

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

Meanwhile, Miles and Plagg watched the same report from the bedroom’s TV.

The mayor declared, “We are pleased to announce that we will be organizing a huge celebration in honor of our city’s new protectors: Beetle Bug and Kuro Neko…”

As Plagg munched through a whole small wheel of camembert, Miles couldn’t help but mumble his new partner’s name while he sat on the couch, “Beetle Bug… His name is Beetle Bug…”

“Hey, got any more cheese? I’m still hungry!”

He rolled his eyes, “Do you realize that they’re going to be suspicious if I keep ordering wheels of camembert to my room?”

“Well, if you want me to recover after a transformation, then, cheese is the deal, my friend.”

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

The lone Akuma flapped its wings on top of an antenna of a high skyscraper. Its wings quivered against the wind until it started to multiply itself, creating a swarming cloud of fluttering darkness that spread throughout the clear sky.

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

Phoenix was washing the dishes until he heard Tiki gasping in fright towards the TV.

“Just as Kurian was about to celebrate the appearance of two new superheroes, Beetle Bug and Kuro Neko, a new wave of panic is sweeping across the city...”, the reporter announced while it showed public footage of people turning into solid gold, ”...as dozens of people are mysteriously turning into gold statutes.”

“What?”, he shuddered.

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

Miles thanked the servant at the door as he closed the door behind her, bringing a new wheel of cheese for Plagg until he glanced at the TV. 

The screen exclaimed, “These victims transformed into gold statues remain still. Police are perplexed as to what will happen to them. Would they come to life or will they be frozen in time forever?”

Setting the tray down on the coffee table, he asked, “Plagg, what’s going on? I thought we defeated him.”

Both kwamis said in unison, “Did you capture the Akuma?”

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

Puzzled, the artist asked her, “What’s capturing the Akuma have to do with the other gold beings?”

Tikki explained, “An Akuma can multiply! That’s why it must be captured. If that man’s emotion reaches a high level of negativeness again, then the Akuma would turn him back into a supervillain again and use the statues as his army!”

Phoenix’s chest tightens, realizing that’s what he forgot. “So that means this is all my fault… I knew it! See Tikki? I’m not cut out to be a superhero!” He yanked his hair in shame.

He continued with a fallen face, “I’m just going to keep messing up.”

The kwami positivity reassured, “Keep calm, Phoenix. It was your first time. You are going to go back to capture that Akuma and do it successfully!”

His shoulders slumped, “I can’t, I told you I’m clumsy! I create a disaster all the time! I’m just going to make things worse. For my partner. For you. For everyone. Kuro Neko will be better off without me…”

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

“So we can’t do anything without Beetle Bug?”, Miles asked.

Plagg shook his head, “For all we know, only Beetle Bug can capture akumas and repair damage caused by the supervillain.”

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

“If Kuro Neko can’t capture the akumas, then find another holder...”

Phoenix clutched the towel cloth in his hand in frustration, blaming himself for his actions. He looked down and apologized as he took his earrings off, “I’m sorry, Tikki...”

The kwami quickly yelped to stop him but her voice faded away.

“Tikki?”, he peered up to look at her but she was gone.

Sadly, he placed the jewelry back in its box on the kitchen counter. He kept apologizing under his breath, “I’m really sorry, Tikki…”

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

The lair was dark with only the radiating sun shining through the large circular window. White butterflies loom throughout the room freely while a strange man stood in the middle, waiting patiently. The original Akuma that was sent returned to its owner. 

The man greeted the butterfly, “That man was a successful start. Perfect as my bait. It won’t be long before hatred strikes again and the statutes would come to life.”

As the Akuma went inside the man’s walking stick, he continued, “Then, we will see how long you stay hidden, Beetle Bug and Kuro Neko. Once I have your miraculous, you will be powerless against me and obtain absolute power!”

As the window shut itself, the man wickedly laughed before being plunged into the shadows...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued...


	2. Turnabout Awakening ⋅ Part Two

“The golden beings are scattered all over Kurain City and for the time being, they’re showing no signs of movement. Police have evacuated the area.”

The mayor stated, “We won’t stop until we can get these people back to their normal selves. But for now, we aren’t making much progress.”

The news reporter continued, “Kurain is now relaying in our new guardian angels, Beetle Bug and Kuro Neko, to save us all. Our lives now depend on them…”

Phoenix gasped at the last sentence. _(All relying on me?)_ He shook his head and continued talking to Larry on the phone, “Larry, what you did was very dangerous! Why did you follow him?”

“I made me and my girlfriend matching clocks and that supervillain decided to steal them from me.”

He rolled his eyes for his friend’s hopelessness. “You know, Cindy probably doesn’t want to be with you…”

“NO! She’s just not answering my calls...Nor talking to me at all...”

“Listen, I have to go now. I have a train to catch.”

“Alright, Nick! See you soon.”

The artist hung up and slumped over the kitchen counter while sitting on a barstool. With the silence fogging the room, it seemed quite unsettling for the artist recalling the reporter saying the city’s dependence on them. Still, it was time to catch a train. He went over to the hanger organizer near the door and slipped on his sweater and sneakers. Before leaving, he filled his bottle with cold water and slipped it in his bag. While he was in the kitchen area, he peered over the miraculous box. _(I feel like I should take it with me…)_ He stuffed it into his blue sweater before taking his bag and locking his apartment to head back to the university.

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

“I’m totally starting a blog!”, Maya exclaimed while they got off the university’s train platform. “They seem so awesome!”

Sadly, the artist questioned, “But why do you trust them so much? All these statues...”

“I bet that they could handle them!”

“But what if Beetle Bug, for example, isn’t cut out to be a superhero even though everyone thinks he is?”

Maya snickered at Phoenix’s absurd questions, “What are you talking about, Nick?” She questioned herself for a bit before saying, “Oh wait. I know what this is about…”

He froze, praying to the stars that it wasn’t what he thought she was going to say until she said, “You’re such a scaredy-cat. We all saw them on television. They’re going to protect us all. I believe in Beetle Bug!”

He felt baffled that his own friend would believe in him. They continued to walk through campus until they reached law education building.

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

From outside of the police station, Frank Sahwit was finally free from questioning. Clearly, detectives didn’t seem to believe him when he confessed that he didn’t remember anything during the attack, leaving only grimly stares and frowns. However, it wasn’t the end of his misfortunes. 

He was fired as a newspaper salesman. Even though they were practically paying him peanuts as his paycheck and the bad treatment he received while going door to door, he nevertheless still needed the job as it was the only job that was able to support himself.

Once he reached out into the parking lot, a young woman with a camera crew ran up to him.

It was the same reporter that was shown on T.V. for meeting Beetle Bug, quite noticeable from her dark purple hair.

The reporter introduced herself, “Hello, I’m Cindy Stone from Channel 9 and I’m here to ask some questions? Why did you become a supervillain? Why did you rob gold from everyone? Why did the police let you free?”

All the rambling of these questions made him snap, shutting the door of his wrecked car and zooming away from the rejected press. All those questions are just leaving him with a negative reputation on him, making his situation even worse if he tried to find another job. He gripped the steering wheel while he drove down the city highway. _(It’s all that reporter’s fault...)_

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

As the lair’s window opened wide, the butterflies fluttered around to welcome the incoming beams. The strange man freed the waiting Akuma in his walking stick and declared, “Alas, the perfect time has come for my bait to transform back.”

Letting the dark butterfly fly away through the window, he instructed it, “Fly away my little Akuma and grasp his hopeless emotions…”

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

Sahwit took a sharp turn around a bustling road, his grasp standing firm on the wheel. The small Akuma squeezed through the rolled-down window and declared property of the forgotten business card that laid in his cup holder.

“Gold Retriever”, the dark voice welcomed him, “This is your second chance to free yourself from this shamed despair. It is time to show the world what you are capable of, however, please do remember the promise we agreed on…”

The poor man understood in full comprehension, now with full control of his memories and power...

  
  


\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

The classroom was already filled with friendly chatter, mostly spreading their opinions on the new heroes. Most fangirled of the battle while few gushed how attractive they were. Not to mention the fact that a local student created a blog called the MiracleBlog, mainly showing rare footage of their first-ever appearance. Still, there was some worry about a strange dark cloud of Akumas.

It felt strange for Miles to get this attention from him and his partner, however, he wasn’t the type to take all the credit nor limelight. What mattered most was he and his partner being able to save the civilians, he thought while he walked around with Franziska and Gumshoe to find a seat.

Although Franziska grabbed hold of Miles’s sleeve while she guided him to the opposite side of the whole classroom, away from Maya and Phoenix that were in the second row. She grunted with disgust. _(Why do they have to be here?)_

While they took their seats in the fourth row in the back, Miles couldn’t help but see his old friend with his shoulders slumped in sadness. Frowning, he wished that he could apologize but he also didn’t know how to explain what happened to him, afraid of Phoenix’s reaction.

Meanwhile, Phoenix himself looked down at the red letter that he was going to send to Miles, peering at his own handwriting. Of course, he was overjoyed that he fulfilled his promise to him but it felt different when Miles didn’t seem the same person anymore, a complete stranger. _(Was it because of what I wrote? Does he want to even see me again?)_

“You should go talk to him”, Maya suggested.

“Maybe… I can try… I… I don’t know...”

“Listen, Nick, you worked your ass off to get to this university. Not only that but study law on the side, just to gain your chances to meet him again”, she corrected him while he glared at her for her language, “You can’t let this one slide, not when you are so close.”

Maya was right, he thought. Ivy University was known as the toughest school to get in, lucky to be accepted with all the good grades he tried to bump up and some art certifications. He flashed back when he and Miles were just kids when his friend reclaimed that he was going to be a lawyer and go to Ivy like his father, his eyes shining proudly. 

But ever since he left, the artist made a promise that he’ll find a way to meet him again, no matter how. Although, those letters weren’t very successful to begin with. Phoenix knew his old friend would come back to study and taking some law education did somehow gain his chances to see him again. And he is here, just a few rows behind him. So close yet it felt like they were worlds apart.

“...Okay, I’ll try-”, he stated until an Akuma Alert rang off again. Snatching out his phone from his backpack, he clicked on the link to live footage of the attack, taking place on top of the skyscraper with the roof topped with the enormous pile of gold that Phoenix ever saw. It was that same supervillain again but there was something new. The camera turned to a purple-haired girl in hostage under the villain’s grasp, yelling out for help but was tied up.

“BeetleBug, Kuro Neko, give me the miraculous or this little reporter shall fall to her death”, the villain announced while he dangled the scared reporter off the ledge, nearly a few fingers left from the leftover rope. “Gold Retriever shall wait for you...”

The class began to panic while the professor instructed them to evacuate the classroom due to the fact that the skyscraper was near the university. While the students exit into the hallway, Phoenix leaned over to Maya, “Hey, wouldn’t it be cool if you were a superhero too?”

Maya nodded in excitement, “Totally! It can be like the Steel Samurai on TV! Why?”

The artist flustered, “Um...no reason.”

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

Miles was lucky that he was able to sneak himself out of the startled crowd into one of the emergency stairs, closing the door behind him. Plagg flew out of his backpack in relief after Miles assured no one was there, “Phew...we can finally skip classes.”

Miles shook his head at his new rebellious friend, “Nope! We got work to do!”

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

**“Plagg, Claws Out!”**

With the swiftness of magic passing through him once again while Plagg was sucked into his ring, he was flashed back into his new identity.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

He ran up the staircase and onto the empty rooftop. With his stick, he launched himself into the air and ran over the other rooftops of the city. _(I hope my partner comes...)_

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

“HE’S GOT MY CINDY!”

Phoenix rolled his eyes at his hopeless friend Larry while they sat on the hallway floor, “Larry, calm down. I’m sure those superheroes will save her.”

He knew that he had every right to be worried about his girlfriend, even though it looked like she ditched him for good. Still, Larry had a good heart, just terrible luck. 

Throughout their school together, he didn’t get the greatest grades nor had a stable relationship. He dropped out of college three years ago but happened to be around campus to see Cindy and was advised by a professor to hide in the building in the meantime.

Frantic, Larry jumped up and yelled, “I won’t let her die like that!” And quickly ran out the front doors. Phoenix quickly ran after him with the miraculous box still in his pocket.

For a while, Phoenix ran after his friend for a couple of blocks until he stopped. 

There was Kuro Neko, who was trying to fight off the gold statues which apparently were alive. One of the statues threw an empty car at Kuro which he dodged but was about to fall on top of Larry. Kuro quickly launched his stick to repel it, only to trip over Larry on an angle against a nearby building, trapping the boy under the vehicle. Suddenly, Kuro was captured by the statues with no stick to fight back and brought him quickly to their master.

The artist stood in freight, not knowing what to do. Larry called out for help, a cry of needed assistance and desperation. He knew that expression too well when he was cornered in the alley, no one there to save him until Miles and Larry came. Somehow the world slowed down around him but with a hit of determination, Phoenix knew what to do. Quickly, he took out the box to put the earrings back on, flashing Tikki back to life.

“I think I need Beetle Bug!”, he exclaimed.

“I knew you will come around!”

Still, he was trembling but shook it off, “Well, I’m not sure I’m up to this but my friends are in danger! I can’t stand here and do nothing!”

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

**“Tikki, Spots On!”**

With the swift of magic passing through him, his red suit was flashed back with polka-dots swirling around him, transforming him into his needed identity.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

With the help of his yoyo, he was able to yank the car into some removers so Larry could crawl out. After helping his friend get back on his feet, he instructed Larry to find a safe place to hide and he grabbed Kuro’s stick. However, Larry simply followed him while Beetle Bug swung after the statues. After a few leaps up on the air and the side of the buildings, he finally found his partner and threw his stick back to him.

“Kuro Neko, extend it!”

By the touch of the button, Kuro broke free of their grasp while Beetle snatched him by the leg with his yoyo towards a high lamppost before another statue could swipe him again. His partner hung upside down while he smirked, “Buggaboy, have I ever told you turned my world upside down?”

Beetle blushed slightly but remarked, “Oh, you are quite the jokester, aren’t you? But we got work on your timing.” He swung both of them into the air so they could continue by the rooftop.

“The only way we could save those people is we go to the source”, Beetle explained.

Kuro nodded in comprehension until they landed down below in front of the pile of gold that the police tried to grab hold of the situation. Larry was already there, panicking of what to do with his terrified girlfriend. The pair looked up to see Cindy Stone still unharmed but not out of danger yet. 

But just when the villain spotted them as well, he laughed, “Well well… It’s about time you two show up. There is no use of her now...”, and dropped Cindy from the ledge. The crowd of police and press gasped while she was falling into her doom until Beetle swung with his yoyo to grab her, safely placing her onto the ground. Larry lunged over to her, hugging and crying tears of joy while Cindy desperately tries to be out of his embrace. Beetle sighed, knowing very well that his girlfriend doesn’t love poor Larry anymore.

Nevertheless, the police started to aim at the supervillain with their rifles. Beetle quickly stopped them, “Wait! Don’t attack! This is going to make it worse.” _(He is still a human being underneath the darkness...)_

The chief of the police interrupted him, “I have a better idea, unlike you. Let the pros do the job because you already failed once.”

Beetle began to tremble and turned to his partner, “He’s right, you know. If I would’ve captured Gold Retriever’s Akuma the first time around, none of this would’ve happened.” He sighed while he looked down in despair, “I knew I wasn’t up for this.”

Miles didn’t know what to say but he knew that his partner needed someone. Someone to help him get up again, just like he couldn’t before. Recalling from his fading memory, his mother would comfort him when Miles was down, one of the many qualities he admired most.

He grabbed Beetle by the shoulders and said softly, “No, he’s wrong. Without you, that girl would no longer be here. And because without us, they won’t make it and we’ll prove it to them. I trust you.” Reassuring, he peered at his flabbergasted partner’s blue eyes, “Okay?”

Beetle Bug felt something inside him that he couldn’t quite define but he knew that his own partner, a complete stranger, believed in him. Everyone believed in them. He blinked a few times to get back to reality before responding back with a huge smile, “Okay!”

However, the world began to turn to see the villain choking on the roof before slitting out a cloud of akumas before passing out on the roof. The butterflies fluttered into the shape of a human face, menacing with darkness.

The strange face let out a booming voice, “People of Kurain City, listen carefully. I’m Dark Moth...”

The superheroes gasped in surprise while they exchanged glances. Beetle could only wonder at his thoughts. _(Dark Moth? Tikki said that whoever made these Akumas had the butterfly miraculous...)_

“Beetle Bug, Kuro Neko,” the voice continued, “Give me the ladybug earrings and the cat ring now. You have done enough damage to these innocent people...”

The world stared at the fear of the terrifying threat as everything started to collapse in terror. Was it the end? But a slow clapping made them turn their heads back to the heroes. It was Beetle Bug, clapping at the absurdity.

Beetle stated, “Nice try Dark Moth but we know who the real bad guy is. Let’s not change the roles here.” Standing tall, he confronted the face, “Without you, none of these victims of these attacks would’ve been transformed into villains. Dark Moth, no matter how long it takes, we will find you and _you will give us your miraculous!_ ”

He launched himself into the air, up to the roof, and with one full swing, he captured all the butterflies before landing by the ledge, a horrifying scream from the butterflies faded rapidly until there was total silence. The crowd stared in amazement while Beetle turned back to them. He announced, “Let me make this promise to you: no matter who wants to harm you, Beetle Bug and Kuro Neko will do everything in our power to keep you safe!” Opening his yoyo, he freed the purified butterflies blasted out, letting out thousands all over the clear sky. 

The world jumped in glee while Kuro looked back at his partner with such admiration that he couldn’t quite define, breathless even, “Wow...”

Joining his partner, he jumped to Beetle Bug by the ledge to face the akumatized villain, who was gaining consciousness again while the deep voice spoke into his mind, “Gold Retriever, they’re trying to take your gold away from you. Snatch their miraculous when it’s time...”

The villain rose in rage, “You all be my greatest statues that I ever know! Come, my gold beings.” The victimized statues teleported around them, surrounding them.

“We have to get to him first if we were going to save them all”, Beetle reminded the cat.

“By any chance, you can get that taffy again?”

“Well, let’s find out...”

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

**“Lucky Charm!”**

With the flick of his wrist, his yoyo was launched into the air as magic ladybugs swirled above it, constructing the object needed for the task.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

As a polka-dotted parachute landed on his hands, both of them stared in more confusion than the first time.

_(What the fuck?)_ “What am I supposed to do with this?”, Beetle pondered while he searched around for clues,

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

Pile of gold

The card

The statues

Kuro Neko

The parachute

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

“Got it!”, he exclaimed while he leaned over to Kuro to tell him by the ear about his plan. His partner nodded and leaped toward the pile of gold, “Can’t catch me!”, leading the statues towards him. Then Beetle wrapped his yoyo string around the unexpected villain, snatched the same card, and threw it to his partner, “Your turn, Kuro Neko!”

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

**“Cataclysm”**

Black energy whirled around his single fist, bubbling for destruction.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

With the card thrown into the clatter, he struck his hand to the pile, crumbling the whole thing into ashes, only leaving the Akuma free from the object. The statues collapsed onto the ground, returning back to their normal selves. Leaving the villain near the edge, Beetle quickly ran over and opened the yoyo.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

“No more evil-doing for you, little Akuma... **Time to De-evilize** -”

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

But before he could finish, the villain transformed back to its civilian form but tripped over the ledge by a nearby victim, sending both of them falling off the building. While everything slowed down, Beetle had to think fast while he peered at the falling people and escaped Akuma. People... Akuma… People...

Strapping the parachute on him, he calls out to his partner before jumping off the ledge, “Kuro, you take care of the civilian.”

With the help of his stick, Kuro was able to catch the startled civilian from falling just a few hundred feet from the ledge meanwhile his partner was free-falling toward the de-evilized victim. Just a few hundred meters left, he was able to grasp the man, swung and capture the fleeing butterfly, and flew open the parachute in one swift motion. As Beetle and the man descended down towards the ground, Miles felt a lot of admiration for his partner for his quick thinking, once again Beetle stealing his heart away.

Landing safely, the man burst out in a rage that he was conscious of his actions and didn’t regret anything, which led him to be arrested for theft and attempted murder. Although, Beetle was recovering from the jumpscare of the unexpected confession. 

Beetle Bug freed the butterfly and threw the lucky charm into the air, yelling, 

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

**“Miraculous Beetle Bug!”**

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

Red ladybugs swirled around the city, repairing the damage that was done while the pair gaze at the phenomenon, considering themselves lucky that the press was held back by the police to prevent them from being rampaged with camera flashing and a flood of questions. The victimized civilians that were turned into statues were returned to their worried families, each being sent by the superhero pair.

After assuring the last victim, Beetle returned back to his partner, “Hey, I’d like to thank you for believing me. I’m glad to have a new partner like you.”

Kuro blushed as he shrugged, “No problem. Ever since you confronted Dark Moth, I saw how capable you really are.” He snickered, “Even though I still can’t grasp on the ‘magical’ part of our powers.”

“I don’t either...”

Beetle laughed and Kuro just snickered, as if he was holding his laughter back, at how absurd this seemed that all of a sudden they have superpowers.

With pride in their eyes for each other, they let out a fist bump,

**“Pound it!”** , they said in unison, knowing very well this will be common.

Their jewels beeped in a warning with only a few minutes left. Beetle stated with this fact, “Unfortunately, our identities must remain secret. I believe my kwami told me that our weapons can be used as phones so I hope we can meet again on patrol or something!”

“Of course.”

He threw his yoyo to a nearby building and said farewell, “See you next time, Kuro Neko. Bug out!”

As Beetle Bug disappeared into the horizon, Kuro Neko kept staring, feeling something that he had forgotten a long time ago. But somehow, it was for that boy. The blue crystal eyes. The scruffy dark hair blowing in the wind. The determined smile on his partner’s face. He pondered while his heart skipped for his partner. Even though he denied his feelings, those thoughts keep coming back. He gave a quick bow for his partner and muttered in his breath, “Can’t wait to see you again, my little bug...” And with that, he leaped back to the university.

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

The silence in the lair was flooded while the butterflies danced around the room with their glowing white wings spreading wide. Beaming, the light was cast onto

Dark Moth, standing alone with a shadow casting darkness behind him. However, his eyes weren’t filled with defeat, but rather victory instead.

“The plan is now in motion. It won’t be long before I obtain what I desire most... You may have won this battle but I’ll win the war and make my wish come true...”

The window closed farewell with his malicious laughter echoed the wall before it plunged him into darkness once again.

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

“OMG! THEY WERE AMAZING!”, Maya exclaimed in amazement, “AW MAN I WISH I COULD’VE RECORDED IT FOR MY NEW BLOG!”

Laughing, Phoenix felt glad that Maya was fangirling about him and his partner, even though she didn’t know who they really are. Still, it was hilarious to see Maya reenacting some parts of the fight. But then a leap from behind startled him. It was Larry.

“Aww, Nick. My life! It’s all over!”, Larry sobbed dramatically.

He sighed, “What is it this time?”

“My Cindy broke up with me and is moving to Paris for good...”

The artist rolled his eyes with a side snicker, “Don’t worry, you’ll get over it.” It was always the same cycle: Larry breaking up, Phoenix there comforting him, and him moving on the next girl.

Sniffing, he wiped his small tears, “Aww, Nick. Thanks for being here for me, dude.”

While Larry walked away to his car, Maya and Phoenix returned to their law class.

“So now what?”

As if he had forgotten it, he lowered his head in despair, “I hope we can fix this mess...”

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

During that long class, Mia, being the professor’s assistant, decided to test what they learned so far by doing a mock trial, to see their ability. No one expected much of the artist when he was chosen, much less to beat one of the top students of the class. They were given an old solved murder, quite simple really. Although, it felt both of them stumped until Phoenix tried a hit of bluffing, a risky tactic that everyone expected him to fail. Incredibly, however, Phoenix defeated the other classmate which left everyone amazed, including Miles’ group. Franziska herself was speechless but refused to admit to it. 

As they packed their bags, Miles confessed to Gumshoe to ask for advice, “I’m not sure what to do. He has been my friend from a long time ago but I didn’t mean to give a bad reaction to him, not after all he had done... What should I do?”

Gumshoe pondered while he adjusted his headphones, “Just go talk to him. Be your true self.”

Grateful, Miles thanked him and went to his next class...

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

The sky darkened and the rain was pouring calmy against the wooden roof. The campus was empty, due to the fact that classes ended long ago, but Phoenix was helping Mia clean up the classroom so by the time he left, everyone was gone. 

Alone, he waited patiently for the metro under a nearby bus stop. He wasn’t expecting there to rain so he tried to avoid getting wet by squeezing himself in the corner. He looked down at the red envelope in his hands, guiding his fingers against the fresh paper. _(Perhaps I can mail him a letter like before, explaining that I just wanted to talk to him...)_

“Um…”

Phoenix jolted to the familiar voice, quickly shoving the letter in his bag. It was Miles, holding a black umbrella and standing a couple of feet in front of him.  
  


“Hey”, Miles greeted softly.

Phoenix turned away, afraid that the situation was going to be worse for his plan of communication. But Miles got a bit closer.

“I just want you to know that I reacted badly to see you again. I’m sorry.”

With his blue eyes, he peered at apologetic Miles.

The student continued, “It’s been long since I went to school. Or had any friends. It seemed to be new to me all over again. I...I hope we can start over.” He peered at the rain and back as Phoenix, generously giving his umbrella to the artist.

Phoenix stared at those steel-gray eyes. The air was damp and wet, dripping thousands of raindrops. And yet, Miles gave a warm smile regardless of him beginning to be soaking wet. It was the same smile that he had when they were kids. Thunder grabbed his mind from reality again and cautiously accepted the umbrella, their hands briefly brushing each other. The artist felt speechless until the umbrella unraveled and closed with him under it.

Without thinking, Miles blurted out laughing in which Phoenix giggled with him while he reopened the umbrella and flushed pink. It was the first time to hear him laugh, a real laugh. _(I’ve never heard your laugh before... I made you laugh?)_ He smiled wide in joy to see him laugh for the first time, wishing for it to stay, but it didn’t last long. After Miles gathered his composure, he gave his farewell, “I guess I’ll see you next time?”

Phoenix quickly nodded, “Y-yeah. Of course...”

While Miles headed to his car where Franziska was waiting, the artist felt his heart racing and his freckled cheeks burning. 

Tikki flew out of his hoodie, knowing very well what he is feeling now, “I think I know why you’re like this.”

He blushed even more in denial but they both have a small chuckle. Meanwhile, Plagg poked out of his soaked jacket, “First day back at school and we already have two lovebirds”, the kwami smirked at the boy.

Miles flustered at the statement but calmly shrugged, “No, he’s just a friend.” But he stopped from what he said. _(A friend... It has been a long time, hasn’t it?)_ He gladly joined Franziska in the car and drove off. The metro finally came and Phoenix quickly raced to the train to get on, still having a grin on his face.

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

The rain continued to ponder against the concrete floor. Nearby the law education building on campus, a young woman stood with a black umbrella, watching the whole thing from a safe distance. 

Then an orange fox kwami gave his opinion from her shoulder, “Excellent choice, Master.”

“Quite well, Trixx. Those two are made for each other...”

She walked back into the building with her yellow scarf flowing against the blowing wind, knowing very well that her decision created a new line of fate.


	3. Turnabout Cinema

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another day like any other in Kurain City! At least, that's what Phoenix thought until his friend Maya dragged him to an exclusive movie convention on a weekend. However, a certain producer that had a dark past wished that a tragic incident didn't happen 5 years ago, leading for her to get akumatized. But the show must on as Beetle Bug and Kuro Neko must battle to the end before the scene ends...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Aka Miles being an absolute fanboy and Maya suspicious of Phoenix's relationship] I did realize that this might be a bad episode but I tried the best I can.

The rising moonlight shines dimly at the sleeping building of Kurain City as many people doze throughout the night. Yet a majority part of the city still glowed on its billboards and neon signs while some enjoy their night out.

Few cars passed by the streets while many groups of friends began to return home from the recent celebrations of the new heroes days ago, although they found it as an excuse to party through the quiet night.

Unwittingly so, a red-suited person sat patiently on a ledge of a building to assure the public’s safety as well as waiting for his partner for patrol night. Beetle Bug dangled his feet by the ledge, peering up the starry night sky. Even though he wasn’t a fan of heights, the couple of days of patrol have helped him conquer his fear. With a lovestruck hum in his head, he sighed deeply ever since he finished patrolling his side of the city.

“Hey, Beetle. Just came back; the coast is clear.”

He peered up to see Kuro joining him by the ledge with a tumbler and bag in his hands.

“My part is clear too. What’s with that?”, Beetle asked, gesturing at the bag. For the past few days, it was easier to talk to his partner on patrol.

Kuro shrugged, “In a night like this, I figured to bring something to keep us warm, unlike last time remember?”

Beetle chuckled. Despite the warm Japanifornia weather, that night was really chilly, especially being on top of skyscrapers, but they still had to patrol the night. Kuro handed Beetle the open tumbler, apparently hot chocolate, joking that caffeine is going to keep them awake.

“Good”, Beetle replied jokingly, “I’m not going to sleep in the middle of doing homework again.”

“Wait, you’re a student?”

“I am”, he honestly said while he took a sip before handing it back to Kuro, ”Are you?”

He smirked. “Of course I am, Buggaboy. Why wouldn’t I build up my knowledge while I have a chance?”

Beetle was a bit flustered at his charms but moved on. “Do you recommend any TV shows? I usually do my art with something in the background.”

Kuro pondered for a bit before shaking his head in denial. “No, I usually don’t watch any shows at home.” This is true for the fact that his guardian taught him not to watch cartoons at such a young age, considering such things to be a distraction to his studies. Still, currently, there was one particular show that he was secretly watching...

“Have you watched Signal Samurai when you were younger?”, Beetle curiously asked.

Bewildered, Kuro nodded. “Why actually, yeah, I did. Never knew you watched it as well.”

His partner chuckled, “Well it was a popular kid’s show back then. Speaking of popular, have you seen the MiracleBlog?”

“I think so”, Kuro responded while he pulled out his baton from his belt. Selecting one of the buttons, the stick opened up into a screen. Quickly looking through the web, he found the fresh blog in which is being to sell merch now.

“Apparently, a local college student made this blog, spreading the news about us”, Beetle explained, “I think it’s pretty cool that how people really admired us by their support from our first battle.”

Kuro sighed, “Look, as much as I appreciate the support, I’m not comfortable with all this limelight. Our goal as superheroes is to help the civilians and find Dark Moth.”

His partner nodded firmly, “Yeah, you’re right. Thanks for the hot cocoa by the way. I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to last patrol without it.”

Kuro smirked after it was his turn to take a sip, “Hey, I was the one who was trying to keep you awake this whole time!”

Beetle nudged his partner by the arm, “Oh shut up!”

The nights were rather peaceful for the two of them after they patrolled the whole city together. Both of the sleep schedules went haywire but Miles handled it real quick, quite the opposite for Phoenix. The artist promised himself and Maya that he would try to sleep early to catch the train, however, having a double life has been difficult to balance.

Few hours went by while they talked about video games from their childhood, sharing a large blanket that wrapped them around their shoulders, and discovered that they could play videogames on their own gadgets. 

Sadly, their time together was up. “Well, I should get going.” Returning the blanket to Kuro, he asked with concern, “Will you be fine here by yourself?”

His partner hummed, “Who knew my own Buggaboy will be worried about me? Of course, I will be.”

Beetle chuckled at Kuro’s subtle flirt. “You really got to stop calling me that.”

With a quick fist pump, Beetle leaped away into the sea of skyscrapers, leaving Kuro sighing with smitten for his departed partner. But when he caught a glimpse of his tail belt, he was mortified that it formed itself into a heart shape. 

After a quick shake to stop it, he sat back on the ledge, placing his frustrated hands on his face. Usually those nights he would occasionally either dream about some happy glimpses of his past. Or that dreadful nightmare about the fire. But now, new dreams come in about Beetle Bug. How he looked so confident and determined. How he would make a cute chuckle when he tempted to flirt. How those radiant blue eyes would shine against the light, sparkling with precious joy. He cursed at the universe while he turned red. _(You can’t fall in love, you idiot!)_ Still, he gave a small smile when he looked up to the glimmering stars. _(Why do these unnecessary feelings make me feel this way?)_

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

It felt quite comfortable for Phoenix to be under the covers of his bed, reviewing himself what he did throughout this week. That time when Miles and his group sat right next to him and Maya in class. That time when they all exchanged numbers. That time when Miles looked amazed while he looked through the bashful artist’s sketches.

Without a doubt, he wrote it all down in his small red diary, filling each line with unstoppable words and emotion, including the day that he met Miles again. Of course, in the small drawer of his desk where he stored his diary, he left the forgotten envelope that he hasn’t sent yet, debating if he should or not. It sat there in the back in his mind while he enjoyed his joyful dreams, relaxing from last night’s patrol…

**_BUZZ BUZZ_ **

_(I guess my weekend plans changed…)_ Slipping himself out of bed and grabbing his phone, he groaned while he climbed down the stairs of his bunk bed. Letting out a big yawn, he peered at his desk. His kwami, Tikki, who was already awake, was peering at some of the old sketches of his worn notebooks.

“Good morning, Tikki”, he mumbled, still dazed from his sleep.

“‘Morning!”, she greeted in glee, “How was patrol?”

Even though a kwami can give you superpowers, they don’t see what the holder experienced while in transformation. The artist shrugged, “Kuro was kind enough to bring hot chocolate for the both of us after our patrol.”

She nodded, “Your partner seems pretty great! Usually, holders of the ladybug and cat miraculous are very close, but you guys seemed to get along real quick.” She flew to him while both of them descended on the stairs, “By the way, you are a great artist!”

“Oh, thanks but I’m not that good”, he thanked when they reached the kitchen area before passing her some chocolate chip cookies that he made days ago for them. “It was my old sketches but not much approved.”

He fumbled to open his phone to reveal 10 missed calls from Maya. Nervously, he called her, hoping that nothing happened before being ear raped by Maya’s urgent shout.

“NICK! WHY WEREN’T YOU ANSWERING?!”

“Because it’s the weekend?”

“WELL HURRY UP AND GET HERE! WE GOT A MOVIE TO WATCH!”, she shouted before hanging up.

“Wow, Maya must be really excited about something”, Tikki responded after munching a bite.

“Yeah, I going to change before I eat. Who knows what Maya is talking about...”

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

Phoenix was quite used to facing the Feys’ apartment door from frequent visits although it was strange that Maya would need him at the moment. The apartment wasn’t actually that far from where he lived, still, he decided to put a gray sweater and his favorite red scarf for the day. The white painted door swung open and an arm pulled him inside. Maya was dragging him to the living room couch and her laptop, forcing both of them to sit down.

“What took you so long? We are going to be late for your lazy ass!”

Puzzled, he asked, “What is it?”

Opening up her laptop, she opened up a window to an email and showed it to the artist, “Global Studios have released the official Steel Samurai movie today. But they are hosting an exclusive convention with a QnA and movie premiere before everyone else could see it. So I entered us in to get tickets for the event and here are they are.” 

She grabbed the white envelope that was laying on the marble coffee table in front of them to reveal two gold tickets. “I was on the site early to get the first tickets but someone else got to it before I did...”

“Wait”, he exclaimed, “You entered me?!”

“Of course I did! You kept on being confused about that the hell I was talking about the show so it’s time for you to enter the fandom!”

He shook his head, “No way. It’s a kid’s show! We are probably going to be the only grownups there.”

She folded his arms, “First of all, it’s not just a kid’s show, it’s a masterpiece, and second, there is a significant percentage of fans who are older than 11 years old.”

He raised a brow, “And what may that be?”

“13%”, she muttered.

“No way then.”

“Oh come on, please!”, she pleaded, “Mia has work today so she can’t take me.”

“And you can’t go alone because?”

“It’s no fun if you can’t bring a friend with you. Besides, I got a ticket for you!”

He sighed in defeat, “Alright fine.”

Maya jumped up and down with joy before rushing to stuff her purse with necessities. Quickly, they locked the apartment before running to the movie theater that wasn’t far from the apartment. Walking down the sidewalk, Maya insisted it was worth it but when they reached inside the theater entrance, there was a huge line of lucky people who were waiting for the premiere as well. Gulping, they joined at the end of the line hoping that the event will start soon.

She glanced at Phoenix and noticed his black earrings. “Since when did you get piercings?”

His face nearly drained out of color but remained in composure. “Oh um… I just felt like I should try something new?”, he said nervously while he fidgeted his fingers to subtlety hide them, hoping it was enough to convince her.

Still, she looked at him with suspicious eyes but decided not to press further. “Okay...If you say so…”

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

The large theater was dim with a few gold lights glowing the empty red seats. Although, there was a small group of crew production and actors for the premiere, preparing themselves for the huge event. The producer searched through the reel container, finding out which one was for the movie, such consequences to mix up with the others. Still, she found the right one after opening the last one in the box. Sighing in relief, she adjusted the brown headscarf that wrapped around her. Even though she didn’t find joy in going to such events, she had to regardless of the company.

“Vasquez, we need to talk.”

The producer knew very well that voice, it dreaded her ever since that incident. She turned around to see one of the actors in the movie, Jack Hammer. Grunting, she placed the cinema reel back in the container but still held it in her hands.

“Hammer, we already talked about this-”

“No”, he interrupted, “I’m done with the company, I’m not going back!”

“For what? May I remind you that you were the one that caused that incident 5 years ago!”, she remarked while grabbing the reel, “You became a star like you wanted and you should appreciate that you still are one.”

He shook his head, “Listen, it was an accident, okay? I didn’t mean to do it.”

Still, she turned away, clutching the reel in her hands. He continued, “This is not what I wanted. I did have a life, yes, but this is not what makes me happy.”

She huffed, her back still facing him, “Welcome to reality…”

“Especially the way you treated me for all these years-”

“HOW CAN I BE NORMAL”, she snapped, turning back at the startled actor with rage in her eyes, “IF YOU WERE THE ONE THAT KILLED MANUEL?!”

The silent air became tense in the theater with the rest of the crew, startled by the commotion. She looked around at the others, her sight becoming foggy and distorted. Without a thought, she stormed out on one of the theater’s exits with the blazing outside sun touching her pale skin. She walked around in the back alleyway to make sure no one followed her before slumping herself against the brick wall. Peering down at the reel that she brought along, it only brought back the anger that she had, clutching it with such fury that it was sure that it could break in any second.

  
  


⋅ ⋅ ⋅

On the other side of the city, a dark lair’s window opened wide to welcome the beaming sun while butterflies accepted the welcome, fluttering freely around the room.

Dark Moth stood tall with his tall cane and declared in a booming voice, “Such a dark past for a bright producer. A perfect victim for my Akuma.”

Letting a white butterfly land on his hand, he grasped it with his other hand, letting the miraculous power to its job, swirling the butterfly with dark energy. Letting go of the dark moth, he instructed it, “Fly away my little Akuma and possess her dark emotions…”

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

Snapping, Dee Vaquez threw the reel at the brick wall opposite of her with light tears in her eyes, causing the reel to shatter into pieces. _(If only…)_ The Akuma flew downward and on the reel, declaring the dark energy as its own.

“Reverser”, a deep voice presented itself in her head, “I’m Dark Moth. I can give you the power to change the course of time to seek revenge on those who deceived you. In exchange, I ask that you bring Beetle Bug’s and Kuro Neko’s miraculous.”

She stood up tall with satisfaction on her face, such temptation to accept this offer. “With pleasure, Dark Moth.” Dark energy swirled around her while she let out a wicked laugh.

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

**“Plagg, Claws in!”**

With those magical words, electrifying energy swirled off Miles, releasing him into his civilian self in the dark alleyway, assured that no one saw him. He wore his usual wear except for this time he was wrapped in a large red hoodie. Plagg, coming out of his silver ring, laughed at Miles’ plan.

“I can’t believe you actually transformed into Kuro Neko just so you can sneak out to watch a movie!”, the kwami smirked.

He rolled his eyes while they made their way to the main sidewalk, “Listen, Manfred von Karma usually does his business meetings throughout the week all day. I’m pretty sure he won’t come out of his office any time soon.”

Walking down the concrete sidewalk, he peered over to see if anyone was watching them before handing a slice of camembert to the hungry companion. Adjusting his hood, he made sure there was no sign of his face as well as making sure no one from school saw him, especially because of the reason why he is going.

“There are plenty of movies at home so why are you doing this?”

He got flustered at the question and turned away shyly before whispering, “There’s a movie theater nearby that is hosting an exclusive convention with a QnA and the official Steel Samurai movie.”

“So what?”

Miles hissed at the oblivious kwami, “SO WHAT?!” He turned at the munching kwami before releasing his fanboy self, “I get to meet all the actors and production crew in their QnA, especially Will Powers! This is my first ever convention that I get to meet them and you’re saying ‘So what?’!” Realizing that he overdid it, he recollected himself and continued walking.

Munching down the last bite, the floating kwami only smiled at the fanboy, “Okay fine Miles. I knew you used to watch cartoons when you were a kid but never knew you are obsessed with a kids’ show.”

Although, Plagg should’ve shut his mouth because it only led Miles to explain all the mature themes and symbolism of the show, correcting him that it wasn’t just a kids’ show. Lucky for the unfortunate kwami, they were near the theater until Miles’s phone buzzed. Dipping themselves in another empty alleyway, he looked at the notification. It was an Akuma Alert. Clicking the link, it led to live news coverage to reveal an akumatized victim, dressed in a brown dress and a weapon wrapped around her right hand, she called out for Beetle Bug and Kuro Neko, the usual deal. While she looked at a group of civilians, she stopped the turning reel on her weaponized arm with the touch of her free arm to only make the group frozen in time.

“Welp looks like the show's about to begin”, Miles sighed at his small companion.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

**“Plagg, Claws Out!”**

With the swiftness of magic passing through him while Plagg was sucked into his ring, he was flashed back into Kuro Neko.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

Grabbing his stick, he propelled himself into the air before landing himself on the rooftops of the buildings. He ran towards the commotion, quickly hoping that his partner would come quickly.

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

The nearby crowd on the streets received the alert and everything went downhill. Many scatter like rats in a maze, trapped because of the nearby commotion of the attack. In the middle of it all, Phoenix and Maya held on to each other while they were bumped and shoved within the storm, although Maya had the opposite reaction to the crowd. Grabbing her phone, she set it into recording mode. “Gotta go Nick. I can’t miss this!”, she exclaimed while she ran out the door, suggesting her MiracleBlog. The panicked artist quickly ran after her before losing her in the scene of the scattering crowd. Still, he hid in a nearby dark alleyway, letting Tikki out of his sweater.

“Looks like we have to miss the movie”, the kwami sighed in disappointment.

He shook his head, “We got work to do, especially if Maya is going to be near the battle.”

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

**“Tikki, Spots On!”**

With the swift of magic passing through him, his red suit was flashed back with polka-dots swirling around him, transforming him into Beetle Bug.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

With a swing of his yoyo, he launched himself into the air before landing on the rooftop. As he ran on the roofs of the skyscrapers, he opened up his yoyo into flip phone mode to call his partner, lucky that Kuro was in transformation mode to answer him.

“Hey Buggaboy, got the alert?”

“Yeah, have any idea where the victim may be located?”

“Apparently she’s heading to the Grand Park on the east side of the city, Sector E5”, his partner responded with the code of the area that the both of them organized for patrol.

Beetle nodded, ”Okay, I’ll meet you there.” Bringing the yoyo back to its original form, he swung through the air with the cool breeze pressed against his freckled face. He guessed that was why Kuro liked flying in the air, it’s quite joyful.

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

Finally, with a few more swings, he spotted Kuro. Unfortunately, the landing was wonky when his yoyo let go too early and left Beetle falling a couple of hundred feet off the ground, only to shut his eyes. Somehow, the strong hit of the ground didn’t come, instead, someone grabbed him midair. He opened his eyes only to look up to see Kuro carrying him bridal style before the both of them landed on solid ground.

His partner chuckled, “Well, fancy to see you drop in. Although I didn’t imagine you dropping into my arms.”

Beetle blushed red in embarrassment, “S-sorry! I didn’t mean to drop in like that.”

Letting the red face bug on his feet, Kuro only smiled in a non-teasing way, “It’s alright, Buggaboy. But we got a victim’s Akuma to catch.”

Beetle Bug never felt this embarrassed, especially in front of his partner. Still, Kuro was right. Gathering the yoyo string in between his fingers, he swirled it into a shield while Kuro used his stick like a bat, both ready for anything unexpected.

“Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in with him. A little ladybug, as we expected.”

They looked up to one of the tall marble pillars of the park to see the akumatized victim standing tall, dressed in vintage brown folds that blended with her dress, and her right arm was wrapped around with metal and machinery as well as a cinema reel to top it off.

She continued, “Fortunately, I just need a couple of minutes to be able to go back in time, 5 years ago. But a deal’s a deal.”

She spun the reel with the recording tape rolling and jumped down in front of them. “Let’s start, shall we?”

Quickly she pulled out the extra tape and launched it like ribbon, centimeters away from whipping their faces. They quickly flung into action while they tried to get close to her but there were a lot of close calls of the razor-sharp tape nearly scarring their skin. Yet a strike slashed Beetle by the cheek, splitting up his skin slightly to let some drops of blood out.

“Beetle! You’re okay?”, his partner yelled out, still in a defensive stance.

Beetle ran off to a nearby pillar for protection and opened up his yoyo into pouch mode so he can take out a magical polka-dotted bandage. “Yeah, I’m fine”, he responded back, placing the bandage on the cut.

Kuro swung his baton in multiple directions at the victim but she struck back. Finally, with a lucky miss, her tape tangled itself on a pillar, he quickly ran up to her for a tackle but with her free hand, she spun the reel in the opposite direction. Outwillingly, the pair was flung back into their original poses when they first started the battle. Confused, Beetle whispered at Kuro, “You still remember everything, right?”

He nodded, “Yeah. We’re just back where we started.” Suddenly, he peered at his partner’s cheek. “But your scar is gone.”

Beetle quickly inspected his cheek with his fingers and sure enough, the bandage and scar were gone. _(It’s gone...but why?)_

Once again, the victim lunged forward at them and they surrounded her like last time, except when she lunged her tape at Beetle, he dodged but then it swung around Kuro’s leg and dragged him towards her. 

In instinct, Beetle split open his yoyo in half while a glowing stick grew in between them. With that, he swung the staff to her back, in which she collapsed by the impact, and he quickly carried Kuro behind a nearby wall, lucky that the victim didn’t see where they fled.

Huffing out of exasperation, he peered at Kuro and his new staff. “Well, I guess this is new?” In the corner of his eye, he spotted Maya, recording the whole thing while taking cover behind a nearby building. _(I hope we can finish this before we get anyone hurt...)_

Kuro pondered with his arms crossed before realization came to him, “I know who the victim is.”

“Wait, what?”

Waving away his partner’s confusion, he responded, “When I was close enough to her, I saw a familiar butterfly pin on her. It belonged to a producer of Global Studios, Dee Vazquez, particularly in town for the Steel Samurai movie premiere and convention.”

Beetle’s confusion quickly went into a smirk, “Wait, isn’t that a kid’s show?” He could thank Maya later for constantly mentioning the show.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, he threw his hands in the air, “Why does everyone say that?! For the last time, it’s NOT just a kid’s show! It includes a lot of adult themes so you can’t say that it is one.”

The polka-dotted hero threw his hands in surrender, “Okay, okay fine.” But he got himself thinking. “So if she’s a producer, maybe the akumatized object is cinema related.”

Both of them peered over the wall to see the victim using the tape to break the pillars in half, each one without success to find them. Subtlely, Bettle suggested at her arm, “The reel. That thing can maybe turn back time of our actions but can’t turn back time of our memories. It’s like a real movie: we can repeat or switch out scenes but we remember how it usually went. That has to be where the Akuma is hiding.”

“But we can’t get close enough without her striking us first”, Kuro objected.

Twisting his staff back into a yoyo, he smiled with stars in his eyes, “Well it’s time for the grand finale...”

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

**“Lucky Charm!”**

With the flick of his wrist, his yoyo was launched into the air as magic ladybugs swirled above it, constructing the object needed for the task.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

A small teapot landed in his hand while they questioned the charm’s ability.

Raising up in the air, he exclaimed, “What am I supposed to do with this? _Make tea?!_ ”

“As much as I like a good cup of tea, I don’t think this is a time to have tea time, Buggaboy.”

Beetle peered over the wall once more but once he did, the victim spotted him in the corner of her eye. _(Shit, she saw me...fuck…)_ She spun the reel in reverse once more, lunging the pair back in their original position, without the lucky charm.

They both groaned how repetitive this was going to get. Still, they whispered to each other while the defended each other’s back from the whipping tape.

Beetle insisted, “It’s definitely that reel so you’re going to have to destroy it with cataclysm.”

“But your lucky charm suggested using a teapot to get close to her. What about that?”

“We don’t have the teapot anymore so maybe this time’s different?” Even with the quick “Lucky Charm”, it still gave them the same spotted teapot to work with.

Kuro chuckled, “I was right.”

Beetle looked around for clues while his partner swung his stick at the razor-sharp tape. Kuro also swung his stick at the reel, ready to regret instantly that he spun it in reverse but somehow it didn’t budge.

She laughed, “Did you really think you can reverse time with just a poke of your toy?!”

A thought hit Beetle Bug instantly. _(That’s it. She can only move the reel with her hand and anything else won’t respond to it.)_ But his earrings beeped in warning that he only has 3 minutes left, so he quickly roamed his eyes for clues,

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

The cinema reel

Her hand

The teapot

Kuro Neko

  
  


~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

  
  


“I got it, Kuro, but I’m going to need you to distract her for a while”, he instructed.

Kuro nodded and led her gaze only to him while Beetle discreetly went behind her. When her legs spread wide enough, he swung his yoyo at her free arm while he slipped under her and quickly stuffed the teapot in her hand. Standing with Kuro, he yelled out, “Now Kuro!”

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

**“Cataclysm”**

Black energy whirled around his single fist, bubbling for destruction.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

He lunged at her and carefully touched the reel with his destructive hand, quickly breaking into ashes. The victim yelled out in defeat before collapsing ion her knees. The purple Akuma broke free from the pile of cinders, fluttering away.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

Beetle opened his yoyo into purification mode and swung it in circles, 

**“No more evil-doing for you, little Akuma... Time to De-evilize!”**

With the swipe of his yoyo, he brought the captured Akuma back in the palm of his hand,

“ **Gotcha!** ” 

Pressing the middle spot, the yoyo opened to release the now purified butterfly,

“ **Bye-bye, little butterfly.** ”

Finally, he launched his lucky charm into the air to repair the damage that has been done,

“ **Miraculous Beetle Bug!** ”

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

The magic ladybugs swirled around the park and at the civilians that were affected by the Akuma Attack, finally swirling around the akumatized victim.

She rubbed her temple from a minor headache but she jolted back to see the heroes peering down at her. “Wha-What happened?”

Kuro gently helped her get on her feet, “It’s alright, miss. You were akumatized but we are able to save you at the end.”

Beetle’s earrings flashed in their last-minute warning. Kuro insisted, “Don’t worry, I can take her back. Though, I wouldn’t mind taking you to see a movie.”

Beetle laughed, “Maybe another time.”

With no doubt in their minds, they let out a fist bump,

**“Pound it!”** , they said in unison.

Beetle waved goodbye, “Well, got to go! Bug Out!” He swung away with the lung of his yoyo. Even though he left, Kuro kept looking at the horizon, humming at his beating heart.

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

The silence in the lair was flooded while the butterflies danced around the room with their glowing white wings spreading wide. Dark Moth stood firm while he reviewed the battle.

“Even if you won this round, it is one step closer to our war. One thing is certain, it is a team that beats the enemy but what would happen if you are separated? What would you do then, Beetle Bug and Kuro Neko?”

The window closed farewell with his malicious laughter echoed the wall before it plunged him into darkness once again.

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

Fortunate to find an empty alleyway on time, Beetle returned back into civilian form as Phoenix. Tiki sprung out of his earrings with her cheerful self, despite being tired, “Now we can look for Maya?”

It took some seconds for Phoenix to realize and later freaked out of his mind. “C’mon Tikki!”, he exclaimed. They quickly ran towards the movie theater while their eyes frantically searched around for the girl until they spotted her just a few blocks from the movie theater. Before they approach her, he instructs the kwami to hide in his red scarf.

He quickly grabbed Maya from the shoulders and inspected her of any bruises or scratches. “Maya! Where have you been?! You could’ve been hurt by the Akuma Attack!”

Waving away his brotherly worries, she pushed away his hand, “Nick, I’m fine. Actually better than fine!” She pulled out her phone and pressed play on the recorded video. “I finally got a video of one of their battles! It already gained thousands of views on the MiracleBlog. Although, it got a bit glitchy in the middle.”

She fast-forwarded it the single frame of the pair prepared the fight to glitch into the next frame of the last moments to the battle. The artist remained silent, _(I guess it works on recordings as well.)_ Still, he rubbed his head while they continued to walk back to the movie theater, “Maya, are you really putting yourself in danger just so you can record something that the news probably already recorded?”

“Actually, they didn’t”, she contradicted him, “All of their footage has been corrupted completely so I’m the lucky one to have footage.”

He sighed. _(Let’s just hope Mia won’t kill me for this…)_ But when they turned around the corner, Phoenix bumped into someone, causing the both of them to fall onto the concrete. Wincing, Phoenix peered up to the stranger before realizing who it was.

“Miles?”

The boy’s gray eyes peered at the pair, “W-wait, what are you guys doing here?”

Maya quickly picked up both of the boys on their feet while she responded, “Oh hi, Edgeworth! I’m bringing Nick to watch the official Steel Samurai movie with me because this huge idiot doesn’t know what the hell this is.”

Bewildered, Miles asked, “Hold up, you guys are here for the premiere?”

Maya sought into her purse to pull out two movie tickets and showed it to him, “Yup! We got the tickets right here.” She peered around to see the long line of selected winners and wondered, “Are you here for it too?”

Shyly, he pulled out his ticket, “Yeah...I am.”

She jumped in glee, “OMG! Another fan!” She then glanced at his ticket, “Wait, _you_ were the one that got the first ticket?! You really are a fan! Have you seen the season 4 finale?”

The pair quickly got along as they went through their favorite episodes while they were shuffled into the theater. First was the convention and QnA where they were selling merch and giving autographs, only leaving poor Phoenix to buy a lot of the stuff that Maya desperately wanted because she already spent all of her savings. But it was happy for him to see Miles having fun with other people, even if he didn’t show a lot of emotion other than joy. And finally, it was the movie. The three of them sat together in the filled row of seats with Maya and Miles sitting on either side of the artist.

While the trailers were passing though, Maya asked, “So you snuck out to see the movie? That’s awesome!”

Miles only shrugged, “It’s a one time opportunity to experience. And besides, this is the first time I get to watch a movie with some friends.”

Phoenix smiled in excitement. _(I’m considered as a friend? That’s great! At least I’m getting a step closer to him~)_ But when the movie was starting, his head began to droop while his eyes started to close. He snapped himself to stay awake but his eyes began to close once more until they shut themselves into a doze. 

Then, he was shaken by the arm and a voice calling out for him, “Nick! NICK! WAKE UP, SLEEPYHEAD!” Groaning, he opened his eyes to see Maya and Miles peering at him with some concern in their face.

Maya slapped his arm with her purse, making Phoenix jump up in his chair. She sighed, “Stars, Nick, you missed the whole movie!”

He peered at Miles who looked guilty, “Why didn’t you guys wake me up?”

Clearing his throat, he looked at him sheepishly, “Well, you were sleeping quite peacefully. I didn’t have the heart to wake you up...”

The artist blushed at his kindness, peering at him with lovestruck eyes, although Maya had to interrupt the moment. “C’mon Nick. You promised Sis to bring me back home.”

While the group was exiting the theater, Miles leaned into Phoenix and whisper, “I just want to say thank you for you guys joining me. I never had this much fun in years.”

Being smitten, Phoenix gave him a smile. “We can always hang out some more if you want.”

Maya could only glance at the two smiling boys, confused but merrily intrigued by what happened in between them.

Miles quickly checked his watch and apologized to the pair for leaving but Maya insisted that it was fine while eyeing to Phoenix, ready to bulge in some questions. 

Just after they turned around the corner, Maya blurted out for some explanation. “What’s with that look? This is the 5th time that you had that face this week ever since...” But then the realization hit her. “Oh Nicky, you got a crush~”, she teased playfully.

“N-no I don’t!”, he blushed in denial.

“Come on! It was so obvious. Admit it~”

The artist groaned. He hated how anyone could see him like an open book. Sighing, he nodded in defeat, “Fine, I do but you better not say anything.”

“Only if you realize what you did back on the theater”, she objected while she pulled out her phone and passing it to the confused boy, “Take a look!”

He peered down and the color drained from his face, mortified at the picture that she took. It was him with his head leaning against Miles’ shoulder. He felt like he was going to faint but Maya interrupted him, taking her phone back, “He said that you didn’t bother him but he also didn’t want to wake you up. At least you didn’t snore!”

“Hey! You better delete that photo or I swear...”

She smirked, “No, I don’t think I will~”

“Maya”, he shouted while he chased after the playful sister, trying to convince her to erase the embarrassing moment.

Regardless of the pair chasing each other down that block, it was true for the artist to have a crush on the boy, nevertheless hoping for that special day to confess to him. Even though both of them won’t reveal each other’s true identities, their bond will get closer than they realize...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Til next time, Turnabout Show, should be done by two weeks :)


	4. Turnabout Show

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lovely night in Kurain City that our boys unexpectedly were working on school work. Not only that but Miles’ kwami, Plagg, is conflicted whether or not tell his current owner about his own mother, a secret that he kept from him after all these years. But alas, when a retired acrobat seeks to show the truth to a tragedy that happened to his brother, it would lead him to get akumatized. As the mysterious fog settled on Beetle Bug and Kuro Neko, they must face the ghosts of their past or they’ll be trapped in their nightmare forever...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Fanservice for Phoenix/Beetle Bug x Miles/Kuro Neko, *whispers* it's the hug scene, also if you haven't read the tags, you should... >:)] Now, I know people hate the Turnabout Big Top case in Ace Attorney but I made it better by putting our ship here so please enjoy it ;)

Nothing but a lovely quiet night on the rooftops of Kurain City, quite unusual yet pleasing as well. The stars twinkled like scattered diamonds in the dark sky while the moon gleamed brightly over the metropolitan. The city glowed brightly with their neon signs and the antique lamp posts on the sidewalks. A screen nearby rang the hour,

_1:00 AM_

It registered really well as many were enjoying their sleep, however, only two enjoyed the view of the city by rooftop. More specifically, two kwamis were sitting on top of a skyscraper. Tikki and Plagg were in the matter of catching up with each other, especially since Plagg was the one that was missing for years, never returned to their original home and storage of all the other miraculous, the MiracleBox.

“Sugarcube, you _have_ to believe me when I say that my owner has been talking about yours for hours”, Plagg complained, “He even has been talking in his sleep!”

As a rule of being a kwami, there was a magic spell that kwamis can not tell their owner’s names to each other. Although, Tikki already knew who Plagg was talking about.

Tikki giggled, “I think it’s pretty cute. This is not the first time that our owners had crushes on each other! Also, stop calling me Sugarcube. Ever hear me call you Stinky Sock?”

“No, but you should”, he smirked flirtatiously, “That would be delightful, Sugarcube~”

She rolled her eyes but her face grew serious. “Still, all of this is happening because someone has the butterfly miraculous. It always has for years… Poor Nooroo.”

“I hope we can contact him soon”, he sniffed, an emotion that no one expected from him.

“Are you crying?”, she asked with worry.

“N-NO!”, he groaned in denial, “Stars, Tikki, you should have your eyes checked. You’re getting too old.”

“Plagg, we both have been old since the beginning of time”, she contradicted him, cracking a small grin by his adorableness.

Still, something has been bothering Plagg for a while, “Well, there’s something that I’ve been wanting to talk to you about, the reason why I called you here actually…”

She faced him with full attention, “What is it?”

“It’s about my owner”, he explained, “I don’t think he knows about…”

“Your past owner?”

He sadly sighed, “Yeah. I can see that both of his parents have been gone from his life and according to his nightmares, he thinks that it was his fault they’re gone…I need some advice, Tikki. I’m not sure whether or not to tell him about his mother, he already has dealt so much in his life.”

Tikki patted him on the back, comforting him, “There is a proper time for everything, Plagg. Let fate go through its course, perhaps even Master might be able to talk to him, but for now, we must be patient.”

However, his legs fidgeted that she knew too well that he was overwhelmed, “You know I’m not great of the whole _waiting_ thing. But I’ll try to, for him and for her and for you, Sugarcube.”

“Well, I have been by your side for all these years so there’s no reason to stop, right?”, she chuckled, opening her arms for a hug.

Even if Plagg wasn’t a hugger type, he still accepted the hug anyway. They both said their goodbyes and parted ways to head back to their homes. Tikki flew discreetly away from the public view as she zoomed through the evening air. Sure, no cameras can capture them on footage but it didn’t mean that no one can physically see them. Fortunately, she made it home safely but what caught her eye was her owner, Phoenix, sitting on a chair on his rooftop balcony.

Flying towards him, she greeted, “Hi, Phoenix!”

Phoenix was very concentrated in thought while holding his notebook but looked up to see his companion. “Oh hi, Tikki! How’s Plagg doing?”

“He’s fine”, she responded. “The same as always. But what are you doing here so late? Didn’t you just got off from work in the bakery?”

“I did”, he let out a sigh, “but I got an art assignment that is due by the end of this month, I’m trying to find something to sketch so I can paint…”

Tikki flew and landed on his shoulder to see his page blank, not even a pencil mark scratched on its surface. “Well, maybe you can search for something interesting that catches your eye”, she suggested, “A lot of my past owners were artists too, you know.”

“Really?”

She nodded, “Yeah, they said that they would draw something captivating, something that no one knew that it could have so much meaning.”

He flicked the paper with his pencil, “That sounds like good advice. Thanks, Tikki!”

She smiled while the inspired artist tried to sketch out some stuff that he peered over the balcony, stroking his pencil against the sketchbook.

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

Through the sea of skyscrapers and buildings, Plagg eventually made it back home, although it did pain him to see Miles still in his desk, burying himself in dusty textbooks and crisp papers. He flew to him and greeted, “Wassup Miles? What are you doing here so late?”

Miles didn’t need to look up to see who asked him, “Currently, I’m just working ahead on my assignments for the month.”

Plagg still insisted on his question, “But didn’t you finish your homework for this week?”

“Well, yes...”

“Then, why are you working on this at this hour?”, he wondered, pointing at the table clock sitting on the wooden desk.

  
  


_1:46 AM_

  
  


Miles only ruffled some sheets around, “I won’t go to sleep until I finish this.”

“Miles, you have to let yourself rest. Too much work is just going to cause your mind to explode”, he insisted, “Believe me.”

Finally, the boy peered up to the floating creature, “In what means?”

“I’ve been here since the beginning of time so I have a lot of wisdom”, he explained proudly before mumbling, “Except for the time that I caused the extinction of dinosaurs...or the disappearance of Atlantis… or the leaning tower of Pisa…”

Miles only rolled his eyes. _(He’s just talking nonsense.)_ “Alright fine, if you say so. I just have a few pages left of this one, then I’ll go to sleep.”

Plagg could only give a small nod though. It reminded him so much of the boy’s father, Gregory Edgeworth, how that man would work long nights to work on a case that he had to defend. Still, he always had time for his family. _(He’s just like his parents, I do miss them...)_

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

The Berry Big Circus was at their full swing as colorful spotlights danced inside the tent. The performers acted in their grand finale, showing off their final stunt. Russell Berry the ringmaster, however, quite unimpressed with how the rehearsal turned out, worried that it won’t be enough to please the audience. But seeing that the performers were exhausted and the time, he decided that it was time to call it a day. Right next to him was Acro, a retired acrobat, sat in his wheelchair, and agreed with the ringmaster. After all, he had promised himself that he would visit Bat, his younger brother, in the hospital the next day.

It seemed like yesterday ever since the incident happened… He turned to Regina Berry, the animal tamer and the ringmaster’s daughter, letting out her cheerful and innocent self to the other performers. Gripping the armrest of his wheelchair, he knew she had caused it all to happen. She didn’t mean to hurt anyone but he couldn’t forgive her of what she did to Bat.

She was the one that pranked Bat by sprinkling pepper on that scarf. She was one that agreed on his dare to reenact one of her acts in exchange for a date. She was the one that caused Bat to place his head inside Léon the lion’s opened mouth. She was the one that caused Bat to be in a coma. She was the one that caused him to be paralyzed trying to save Bat. All that Bat did was love her...

There were times that she would bring him meals to his room (since he couldn’t come down to the cafeteria) and every time, he would despise her smile and joyful eyes after all that happened. How she would dare to address Bat as a star in the sky as her metaphor for him being dead, even though he was in a coma this whole time.

It took some seconds for Acro to realize that he surprisingly made it to his room on the third floor. Still, the fury was buried under his skin. _(If only she knew what she has done, she would’ve realized how her actions caused Bat to get hurt…)_

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

The dark lair’s window opened wide to the dim moonlight while butterflies accepted the evening, fluttering freely around the room.

Dark Moth stood tall with his tall cane and declared in a booming voice, “An fallen acrobat with the dream of revengeful justice. A perfect victim for my Akuma.”

Letting a white butterfly land on his hand, he grasped it with his other hand, letting the miraculous power to its job, swirling the butterfly with dark energy. Letting go of the dark moth, he instructed it, “Fly away my little Akuma and evilize him…”

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

Acro wheeled himself over by the open window of his small room, facing himself to the Big Top, still bright inside it by the infinitely shining spotlights. He pulled out of his pocket Bat’s scarf that Regina herself gave him, the same scarf that was worn during the incident, tinted with some blood. Of course, she didn’t mean to hurt anyone, but still... The Akuma flew from the window and on the scarf, possessing it with its dark energy.

“Dream Dreader”, a deep voice presented itself in his head, “I’m Dark Moth. I can give you the power to reveal the guilt and nightmares to whoever comes to your path. In exchange, I ask that you bring Beetle Bug’s and Kuro Neko’s miraculous.”

Acro could only sigh, “If it’s the only way for her to see the truth, then I’ll do it…” He allowed the dark energy flow on him, hoping this is the way to reveal what she has done.

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

The performers were just heading back to their quarters until they encountered a cloud of purplish fog outside the tent, clearly suspicious due to the clear weather. But once they entered through to inspect it, they were never seen again.

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

“I got an idea but I still need to pick a color scheme”, Phoenix analyzed his sketch, placing the tip of his pencil on his lips.

"Phoenix, you should probably get some rest", the tired kwami advised.

It didn’t take long for the artist to come up with something but Tikki was right. He had stayed up for far too long so while he rushed to finish the last few strokes of his sketch, he asked his companion quickly, “Hey Tikki, can you see any good colors?”

Her eyes roamed around until they caught sight of a big circus tent. “What about that?”, she pointed out.

Curious of what she meant, he stood up from his chair and walked over to the balcony railing to get a clear view. “Oh yeah, it looks like the Berry Big Circus is in town for this month. They do seem like they have interesting colors to use…”

Something different caught his eye, however. A huge cloud of indigo fog surrounds the circus, something that Phoenix could sense that it’s unnatural and yet too familiar. “Wait, that’s dark energy. There’s an Akuma attack”, he exclaimed, “We go to warn everybody!”

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

**“Tikki, Spots On!”**

With the swift of magic passing through him, his red suit was flashed with polka-dots swirling around him, transforming him into Beetle Bug.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

Reaching for his yoyo, he quickly activated the Akuma Alert, apparently a new feature for the heroes of the button so they could warn the civilians. It only took a quick press to send the notification to every phone of the city, warning everyone to stay in their homes in the meantime. Of course, his fingers swifted across on the yoyo screen to text Kuro Neko a message:

**_Kuro Neko :)_ **

_[Kuro, meet me at Sector C2,,plz hurry]_

  
  


With that out of the way, he fumbled with his yoyo in its original form to lung himself into the air, swinging from building to building. _(I hope you woke up, Kuro…)_

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

**_BUZZ BUZZ_ **

Miles’s phone vibrated while he was in the middle of shuffling his papers to put them away. Curious, he opened up to see it was an Akuma Alert. _(Beetle Bug. He must’ve activated it…)_ He rushed up to his feet to meet up to the coffee table to see Plagg, who was eating his midnight wheel of cheese. “Plagg, we got to go. There’s an attack!”

The kwami mumbled from his munching, “Wait, let me finish this-”

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

**“Plagg, Claws Out!”**

With the swiftness of magic passing through him while Plagg was sucked into his ring, he was flashed back into Kuro Neko.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

After his transformation, his baton buzzed unexpectedly. He reached over to it and turned it into phone mode, switching the metal to a screen. When he clicked over to the messages, he could tell already who it was.

**_Buggaboy <3_ **

_[Kuro, meet me at Sector C2,,plz hurry]_

_[sure thing buggaboy :) meet u there]_

  
  


He giggled to himself for his nickname for Beetle, but then with that realization, he turned red, both in embarrassment and lovestruck. _(You got to-- augh… great, I do have some affection for my partner but now’s not the time, Miles.)_ He opened his window wide enough for him to crawl out and using his sticking shoes, he walked on the mansion wall to close it behind him but just peck open to let himself in when he gets back. With that, he rushed over the rooftops to meet up with Beetle.

It didn’t take long for him to spot Beetle standing on a nearby rooftop, yet it was attempting to give him a small scare. Like the cat he is, he crept up right behind him with his partner huffing that _“Kuro should’ve been here by now”_ and all that jazz. Kuro tapped on the spotted shoulder, which only led him to be punched unexpectedly in the face by Beetle who was mortified quickly changed to annoyed.

“Oh, Stars...Kuro!”, he frowned at his partner, “You shouldn’t scare me like that!”

Even though he winced from his swollen cheek, Kuro gave a weak thumbs-up, “Good one, Buggaboy. You got a good punch.”

Despite the jumpscare, Beetle opened up his yoyo into pouch mode to pull out an ice pack, apparently, something that the yoyo’s first aid kit had. He placed it on his partner’s cheek, cupping it gently. Slowly, Kuro grabbed the ice pack just so Beetle could let go, their gloved fingers barely brushing each other. The red bug grinned, “There. And of course, I got a good punch, you silly cat! I learned some self-defense when I was a kid, so you better watch out!”

Kuro could only blush, his heart fluttering from the interaction. _(Oh my stars… Why did I fall for him?!)_

“Anyway”, Beetle snapped him back to reality, “we got an Akuma to catch!”

“Alright partner”, Kuro understood, trying to avoid his overwhelming emotions and handing the ice pack back to him, “we don’t have all night.”

A few swings of the yoyo and propelling of the baton, they landed on the suspiciously empty circus grounds. Sticking together with the backs facing each other, they got to their defensive stance as they shuffled into the Big Top, their gadgets in hand. Inside, the empty tent was dimly lit with a few shadows dancing in the small creaks and edges of the striped folds. The silence only fogged up into awkwardness.

“Um… Hello?”, Kuro broke it, “Anyone here?”

“Kuro! That’s going to give us away”, Beetle facepalmed, trying not to be too loud.

He shrugged playfully, “What? This silence is too eerie.”

Still, Beetle gave him a good nudge to his arm. But it didn’t take long for them to encounter the akumatized victim, zooming in above them.

“Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls, put your hands together for the grand downfall of Beetle Bug and Kuro Neko!”

In midair, a man on a large red carpet flew in with a prideful grin placed across his face. He wore in bright colors that were circus themed and he sat with his legs crossed. He clapped, “Time for nightmares to begin...” And with that, he dropped some party poppers on the ground, leading them to explode like a smoke grenade and release the abnormal fog that Beetle saw earlier.

As the cloud began to settle in, Beetle quickly whispered to Kuro behind him, “Listen, we gotta stick together or else we-” But when he turned around, Kuro was gone, leaving him alone in the fog. “Kuro? Kuro!”

“KURO NEKO, WHERE ARE YOU?!”

His eyes roamed frantically to find his partner but he was nowhere to be seen. He began to heavily pant while panic settled on him. _(Oh stars… Where are you?!)_ He turned around once more to spot his wooden desk, topped with a pile of familiar red envelopes. With each step closer, he recognized immediately what they were. _(My letters? What are they doing here?)_

Suddenly, the envelopes had a mind of its own and began to attack him, each one giving a paper cut to his skin. He fell back from all the cuts and tried to shield himself with his arms but even his impenetrable suit was getting torn from the zipping, sharp paper. 

It seemed like hours with Beetle trembling on the ground until it fell silent and he had enough confidence to peek to his surroundings. While on his knees, he peered around to see the red letters, all individually surrounding him like a bubble, trapping him in the middle of it all. One of the letters in front of him began to float towards him and unfolded itself into a new form. Into... Phoenix? No, it was an origami version of younger Phoenix.

Beetle squinted at the small date that he spotted on the origami child’s cheek and the realization hit him. _(That’s the first letter that I sent to Miles!)_ The paper child started to talk in the younger version of Phoenix’s own voice, reciting what he remembered writing all those years ago:

_“Hi Miles! It’s been so long but I’m finally able to find a way to contact you!_

_How is it there in Germany? I imagine that it’s great! Did you go to a new school?_

_I hope you won’t be lonely since you were kind of a nerd. Haha! Maybe you’ll find a good book to read since you like them._

_Anyway, we all miss you here in class! I even drew a picture of Larry and me and you so you can remember us. Can’t wait to hear from you soon!_

_We miss you, Phoenix”_

The child finished it off with an innocent smile on his face while the spotted hero could only look at his younger self, flabbergasted at the nostalgia. The silence filled the air on what seemed like forever, but then the origami began to shred into pieces, thousands of paper scraps ripping in front of him. 

Quickly, Beetle desperately tried to grasp the broken pieces of his past from the air, unable to recover what has been lost. His heart dropped, remembering when he saw Miles for the first time in years, how he looked mortified and ran away. Even though he apologized, that moment still haunted him in his mind. _(Did Miles even wanted to see me again?)_

Instantly, a few more letters opened up, each folded into the varied ages when Phoenix wrote them, all reciting at the same time of what he wrote to only end up ripping into shreds, somehow causing burning physical pain to his cuts. Over and over and over. Beetle crumbled himself into a ball, trying to drown his own voice as millions of pieces of paper rained on him and his scars.

_(Kuro… Where are you? Kuro…)_

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

Deep within the fog, Kuro Neko could only roam blindly, confused, and separated from his partner as Beetle who _was just there_ standing behind him. Adding to the misfortunes, his green night vision didn’t work against the cloud.

“Buggaboy? Beetle? BEETLE BUG!”, he called out, “BEETLE, WHERE ARE YOU?!”

The cloud’s dust began to irritate his sight so he blinked a few times to hopefully make it go away. But when he fully opened his eyes again, he realized that his surroundings changed into a place he was very familiar with. _(My old room?)_ Then, he realized he was in the covers of his old bed and when he peered down, he realized he was smaller than usual, looking at his childlike hands and out of costume. _(What? I’m... younger?)_

“I think that’s enough stories for tonight, Miles.”

The young boy jolted up to the familiar voice. _(F-Father?)_ And right there, right next to him was his father, alive and well, just like he remembered with the same rectangle glasses and warm smile. He began to hiccup from holding back tears, never realizing how much he missed him. But then he looked at the calendar that hung against the nearby wall, quickly draining the color of his face when he saw the date. _(No...It can’t be… That’s the day--)_

Suddenly, a familiar sound thumped loudly outside his bedroom door.

“Stay here, Miles. I’ll go check it out”, Gregory advised his son, carefully getting off from sitting by the side of the boy’s bed. Miles quickly shook his head and tried to reach out to him but somehow, he was pulled back. Illuminating bright cyan, some large chains were wrapped around his wrists, preventing him from moving from his spot.

“F-FATHER”, Miles tried to cry out, “FATHER! DON’T GO, PLEASE!” But it was no use as his father slipped out into the dark hallway. With every bit of his strength, he pulled through with the heavy glowing chains and dragged himself to the door. He gripped on the doorknob as he spotted two shadows on the dark, both fighting and holding each other back from making any moves. Young Miles knew that at least one of them was his father.

Then, his hands were unexpectedly gripping on something and when he looked down, he realized it was _that dreadful gun_. Against his will, his chained hands began to raise while his face looked mortified. He frantically shook his head when his hands were ready to throw. He pleaded as tears flowed down his face, “NO! NO! PLEASE! I KNOW WHAT COMES NEXT! PLEASE DON’T DO THIS! PLEASE!”

No luck was with him when his hands threw the gun into the plunging darkness. Everything disappeared until it was only dark and gunshots echoed through his ears as well as 2 screams. First was his mother’s last cry and another was a horrifying scream that he knew too well. That same one that returned after all these years and every time the bone-chilling scream would make him wake up in cold sweat. Yet it was here once again in what seemed to be in an infinite loop. Sobbing, he clutched to himself as he collapsed himself to the floor, unable to take in this nightmare. _(Please...Make it stop...please…)_

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

Despite the shreddings of the letters were falling on him, Beetle gripped himself to slowly stand up. He was collapsed back down from trying to push himself off the ground but he reminded himself that he had to stand for his partner. Even with the lightly bleeding cuts and the weakest strength he had left, he was successful to stand up to his feet. Weakly, he reached for his yoyo. _(I’ll get us out of here, Kuro…)_

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

**“Lucky Charm!”**

With the flick of his wrist, his yoyo was launched into the air as magic ladybugs swirled above it, constructing the object needed for the task.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

A spotted flashlight dropped on his weaken fingers while he questioned to himself.

“What the fuck am I supposed to do with this?”, he muttered to himself and switched on the device. 

He moved it around for a bit, just for curiosity, but wherever the light touched the scapes of paper, it would disappear. But without the light, it would reappear until it’s touched by the light again. His eyes widened. _(This was all just an illusion, what we are seeing isn’t real unless we think in our heads that it is.)_

With that in mind, he closed his eyes tightly, thinking of how Miles was willing to be his friend since two weeks ago when he gave his umbrella on that special day. How he even confirmed that he was his friend when they went to the movies together a few days ago. Phoenix promised himself that he would stay by his side no matter what.

He curiously opened his eyes and everything around him was gone, only left with fog and the cuts. Nevertheless, he knew that he found the solution. Roaming with his flashlight, he called out to the fog as he walked cautiously for his partner.

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

Everything seemed to tremble as Kuro stayed flat against the shaking ground as the dark surrounding around him began to flame up with fire. _(It’s my fault they’re gone… If I haven’t thrown that gun, maybe Mother and Father would’ve survived… They could’ve been here with me… But they’re dead...all because of me…)_

Suddenly, a familiar voice called out for him through the fiery flames. “Kuro! Kuro, can you hear me?”

_(Beetle… Is that you?)_ Numbly, he pushed himself up to seek around the dim flames for his partner’s voice through the darkness. His partner called out, “Kuro, I know whatever you’re seeing is hurting you but whatever you’re seeing is not real; it’s just an illusion.”

Kuro could only frown but Beetle continued, “I know you feel trapped and abandoned, even traumatized. I know this guilt has been dragging you down but I need you to know that I’m here for you, no matter what happens. I’ll be here to listen. I’ll be here if you need some comfort. I’ll be here, right by your side. I’m here.”

Those words seemed to have an impact as Kuro saw the nightmare fading away around him, back into the cloudy indigo fog. No more screams; only silence.

“Kuro?”

He turned around to see Beetle, weaken with a flashlight, standing a couple of feet in front of him. “Beetle?”

“Kuro”, he exclaimed as both of them ran up to each other, pulling themselves into a tight hug. 

After a good moment, they pulled apart gently just to look at each other. Kuro quickly cupped Beetle’s face to see that he was scarred with cuts, “Beetle, you’re bleeding!”

Beetle shrugged, “It’s just some paper cuts.” With his finger, he wiped a few of Kuro’s tears away, “But you’re crying. I can tell that something is bothering you.”

Kuro’s cat ears drooped as he looked away but Beetle turned his face to his own. “I promised you that I’ll be here for you. We can talk about it after the battle if you want to, okay?”

The cat nodded, thankful that someone was there to listen to him. With his free arm, he wiped away the remaining tears before he turned back to Beetle. “So, what’s the plan?”

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

Dream Dreader knew that the heroes were at the misery of their nightmares, the perfect time to sneak up to them. With the swift of carpet, the fog cleared out for its path as he ascended only to find Beetle Bug looking around aimlessly with a terrified expression, with nothing in hand.

“Oh no”, the hero called out, “I want this nightmare to end! All I see are the disappointed faces around me, I failed at being a superhero!”

_(Now’s my time…)_ Slowly, he crept the scared bug from behind. His fingers were close to his ears, seconds away to snatch the earrings. Until Beetle Bug turned around and shined the blinding flashlight to his eyes, apparently hidden this whole time. Beetle yanked his foot forward, which was wrapped by yoyo string.

“Now, Kuro!”, Beetle called out to the fog.

Kuro, with one of his legs wrapped with the other end of the yoyo string, jumped from the cloud and towards the akumatized villain.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

**“Cataclysm”**

Black energy whirled around his single free fist, bubbling for destruction.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

He struck the victim’s flying carpet, causing both of them to drop a few feet off the ground. The carpet, being destroyed into ashes, let the Akuma free into the air. Beetle quickly untangled his yoyo from both of their legs to capture the Akuma.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

Beetle opened his yoyo into purification mode with the swipe of his finger and swung in circles, 

**“No more evil-doing for you, little Akuma... Time to De-evilize!”**

With the swipe of his yoyo, he brought the captured Akuma back in the palm of his hand,

“ **Gotcha!** ” 

Pressing the middle spot, the yoyo opened to release the now purified butterfly,

“ **Bye-bye, little butterfly.** ”

Finally, he launched his lucky charm into the air to repair the damage that has been done,

“ **Miraculous Beetle Bug!** ”

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

  
  


The magic ladybugs swirled around them and the fog disappeared, finally swirling around the akumatized victim.

Acro was right in front of them, groaned while he pushed himself from the ground, then realizing the heroes peering at him. “Beetle Bug? Kuro Neko? What are you both doing here?”

They both walked over to him and helped carry him to a nearby bench. “Don’t worry”, Beetle reassured, “You were an akumatized victim but we were lucky to be able to save you and the circus at the end.”

Acro nodded in comprehension, “I see. Thank you for doing your job but I guess I never realized how much trouble I caused.” Clearly suggesting by Beetle’s cuts.

“Sometimes, it takes time to realize our actions but it is never too late to put in the effort to do so”, Kuro advised him before he turned to Beetle with a soft smile, “It’s also never too late to listen.”

Beetle just smiled back at his partner.

The rest of the thankful circus joined in to meet the heroes as well, with Acro apologizing to the group in the meantime. Regina even wanted to talk to Acro personally about Bat, apologizing what she has done, which they worked it out at the end. However, the heroes’ jewelry beeped in warning of their time left. As they slipped from the tent, Kuro grabbed gently Beetle’s hand, “Beetle, you said that we could talk about our nightmare after the battle, right?”

His partner gave a small nod but looked at him with concern, “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“I want to”, he insisted, “You are my partner, I trust you.”

Their jewelry beeped for the last time. Beetle suggested, “Oh right, our miraculous… Let’s detransform separately and retransform again so we can talk. How about I’ll meet you at the park?”

“Sounds good.”

The two heroes parted ways into separate alleys, letting each of their kwamis eat their snacks to regain energy.

“Phoenix, are you really sure about this?”, Tikki asked concerningly while she munched a cookie.

“Of course, he's my partner after all. The best thing I could do for him is to be there, even if it’s just to listen to him”, the artist explained. “You have to trust me, Tikki.”

She nodded happily, “Alright, I’ll trust you.”

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

The silence in the lair was flooded while the butterflies danced around the room with their glowing white wings spreading wide. Dark Moth stood firm while he reviewed the battle.

“This victory of this fight is yours for now but we shall soon see for the war. Despite the both of you being separated, you found each other. However, there was the dark shadow of your past that chased you tonight. Now, will _that_ be your downfall?”

The window closed farewell with his malicious laughter echoed the wall before it plunged him into darkness once again.

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

The grand park was quiet with only a few lantern posts turned on, dimly yellow under the starry night sky. Thanks to the magic of the miraculous, Beetle’s suit was fully repaired and some healing cream from his yoyo helped his cuts. He sat patiently, waiting for his partner, half expecting for him to pop out of nowhere like earlier. But instead, Kuro walked up to him quite normally, a surprise for Beetle.

“Hey”, he awkwardly greeted.

Beetle grinned, patting the free bench spot aside from him, “Oh c’mon, you silly cat! This isn’t the first time we talked like this.”

Kuro’s tensed shoulders seemed to relax a bit as he sat down. Still, he did have a frown on him.

“Kuro, if you’re not ready, I understand. But if you need someone to listen, then I’m here too”, Beetle assured him from his worries.

“Alright”, the cat sighed before he slowly began, “It was about a nightmare I had, ever since I was a kid. I’ll try not to say anything that might reveal our identities, but, when I was young, I went through a tragedy… that my family died. There was an intruder attack within the house but I must’ve fainted after an earthquake happened, I think that was why it was dark… And then, there was a fire… and I was the only one that survived it all. Mainly every night after that, all I can hear were gunshots and screams. At most times, I would blame myself that I was the only one and not anyone else.”

He then looked away, “I would even blame myself that I caused their deaths. Of course, I was just a kid and I don’t remember much of that, but what if I did? What if I was the one that killed my family?”

He still hid away, afraid of what Beetle might’ve thought of him now, but then a hand grabbed his chin and turned it to Beetle. The spotted hero looked concerned, worry with his blue eyes and his thumb caressing Kuro’s cheek. “Kuro, look at me. From the way that you have been telling me this, I could tell that this has been in your mind for a while, a ghost of your past really. But I know that this isn’t your fault. I have only been your partner for a couple of weeks and I could tell that you’re a good person at heart. You wouldn’t dare to hurt anyone that you cared about, so it seems weird that you would hurt anyone intentionally.”

“Even if it was accidental?”

“Kuro, regardless of your vague description of your nightmare, it didn’t seem like you did hurt anyone, you were just physically there at the scene. I know that perhaps this whole thing happened but I still believe in your innocence. You became more than a partner, Kuro, you’re my friend and for that, I promise to you that I would stay by your side no matter what. Even if it was accidental, I’ll still be here because I know who my real partner is.”

Kuro just sat there in silence. Even if only some of his guilt got off his shoulders, he somehow felt relieved that his partner was there to listen, to believe. Undoubtedly, Beetle let his arms out, mentally asking if he needed a hug. Shyly, he gave a small nod and Beetle hugged him close. The cat never realized this but he abnormally wanted this hug when he awkwardly wrapped his arms around him. Even though he wasn’t used to affectionate interactions, he accepted the hug no less, letting himself be in his partner’s embrace.

But then, something made a weird sound, later in realization for Kuro that he actually _PURRED_.

Giggling, Beetle stepped back from the hug, “Did you just purr?”

“N-No!”, Kuro denied while he scurried away from his partner’s arms and his own cheeks burning in embarrassment, “I didn’t!”

It only led his partner to laugh some more, almost tempted to make him purr again but of course, he kept his space, dying down his laugh. “Alright, you silly cat, if you say so.”

“So, your scars?”, Kuro asked, changing the subject.

“Oh, I just applied some healing cream before I got here”, he nervously answered.

“No, I mean, what was your nightmare? If you want to say it to me that is...”

Beetle hesitated but answered anyway, “I was afraid that I might lose a long lost friend…”

Kuro raised a brow but Beetle pleaded, “Promise that you won't laugh, okay? I used to be friends with them but we got separated, by distance, just so you know. And then I now finally got to meet them after all these years that I was afraid that they might not want to be my friend anymore. Maybe because I changed or something.”

Kuro couldn’t help but laugh and Beetle slapped him on the back. “You promised that you wouldn’t laugh!”

“I know, I know”, Kuro snickered, trying to compose himself into a simple smile, “But I just thought how absurd would it be that no one would want to be your friend. You’re kind, determined, and a bit clumsy, but you are still a good person. Who wouldn’t like you?”

Although, Kuro just realized what he said and blushed pink, “As a friend, of course.”

He wasn’t the only one that blushed pink, however, so did Beetle. The red bug sheepishly added, “Thanks Kuro.”

“Well, I must be going, Buggaboy, it’s almost 3 am. Thanks for listening to me anyway, you’re a great friend”, the cat thanked as he stood up to leave, letting out his fist for a fist bump.

**“Pound it!”** , they said in unison.

“No problem, Kuro, actually I was kind of expecting you to say I was your nightmare or something”, Beetle teased as Kuro was starting to walk away.

Still, Kuro only turned around and gave him a loving smile, “Of course not, you’re the guy of my dreams.” After that, the cat flew into the night, leaving the red-faced superhero confused and blushing by his charms. _(Stars, he has to stop doing that! He’s just playing around...right?)_

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

Eventually, the artist returned to work as he finished the last stroke of his final draft. Tikki, who was nearby, flew in to see his accomplishment. 

“Wow”, she exclaimed, “That’s very good, Phoenix!”

His sketch was a close up to a rose bush that Phoenix was growing on his balcony, consisting of a single rose blooming its petals, and on one of them, there stood a single ladybug, resting on the red petal. At least that’s what Tikki could tell from his choice of color scheme and the black and white sketch. Otherwise, it looked wonderful.

“I think I’ll stop it here”, he let out a big yawn. “I can work the rest tomorrow.”

Tikki giggled and hugged his cheek, “You deserve it.”

They both smiled and they slipped in through the trapdoor skylight, a lovely time to enjoy their sleep.

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

Meanwhile, Miles’ room was dim by a small nightstand lamp as the silence of the room roamed the air. Miles laid on his bed with Plagg sleeping on a nearby pillow, snoring as usual. But this time, the boy couldn’t sleep as many thoughts went through his head. Part of it was his physical nightmare during the battle, despite it being an illusion, it felt like a replica of what he usually dreamt. However, it was mainly about Beetle Bug. How he cupped Miles’ cheek with that icepack. How they hugged each other in each other’s arms. Twice, he reminded himself. And how Beetle heard him purr, in which he found it very embarrassing.

Frustrated by his feelings, he stuffed his face in his own pillow, muffling his screams. Still, his thoughts returned back to his partner as he fidgeted his pillow cover. Beetle was with him, to listen and to comfort. No one would ever do that act of kindness except him. His eyes had such concern as if he was precious to him, as if he was the most valuable thing in the world. He blushed pink, almost like the same color as his pajamas. _(Beetle is really is something, huh? I’m glad to have him on my side…)_ But he stuffed himself back to his pillow, being reminded of his feelings. He really did fell in love, he thought.

Despite Miles being frustrated by his crush on Beetle Bug, he did enjoy the goodnight’s rest, especially since he recalled the comforting embrace he had with his partner. Regardless of the boys never realizing each other’s double lives, their connection as civilians will get even stronger because of an incoming celebration of a little red bug…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Til next time on our next episode, The Surprised Turnabout. (This might take some time so please be patient with me) Also, I have an Insta with the same username so you can check that out :D


	5. The Surprised Turnabout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It would’ve been like any ordinary day at Ivy University, except Phoenix’s birthday is coming soon! The friend group rush to prepare the special surprise, including Miles who planned to create something handmade along with the wristwatch he got for him. But in Kurain City, the artist isn’t the only one with a birthday that day. A young boy from a low economic family also had a birthday but never got to experience the celebration that he wished for, leading him to get akumatized. As the battle will challenge them into hurdles, they would have to resort to a new ally to the team…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long but here's the new chapter :)  
> Check out my Insta, Koi_Doodles, for some art and an AU guide!  
> I hope you enjoy this episode!

The sunbeams glimmered through the crystalized glass panes, each one welcoming into the room of Ivy University’s law education building. Outside, the air was crisp while the same sun comforted with its warmth on the campus fields, soothing the day’s energy.

**SLAM**

However, outside’s calm sensation was drastically different compared to the classroom where the students gathered around the mock trial, captivated by the two boys that were going against each other. The audience spiked up by Miles Edgeworth’s desk slam as he yelled his response against his partner, Phoenix Wright.

“Objection!”, Miles called out with such confidence, “the witness would have not been able to be at the scene at that time, according to their neighbor’s testimony, they were in their apartment the entire time.”

“Objection!”, Phoenix yelled back, “However, we just established that the witness had an opportunity in between the time gap that their neighbor testified. Therefore, we should consider that they could be a suspect as they had a close relationship with the victim, making the defendant not the true culprit of this case!”

The tension grew stronger as they exchanged contradictions to each other, like a game of ping pong. The audience swayed their gaze from one side to the other whenever one seemed to have the upper hand until to be beaten to the same level by the other. It felt like yesterday ever since they were paired up, knowing that they had a close relationship, and now have been fighting against each other in such trials. Unlike any other pair, their trials were intense and boiling with every table slam and shout, filling plot twists in between.

On the defense side of the stage, Wright grumbled through the sheets of testimony and evidence as he built up his counter-argument. Who knew being paired up with Miles could be so complicated? Usually, he seemed a bit shy and polite, but once he got behind the prosecutor's bench, he unleashed such high confidence and slyness that no one saw it coming. _It’s kind of endearing,_ Phoenix thought. He shook his head and pressed onto a new lead.

In the final minutes of class, though, the professor decided to end it in a tie as it was going for at least an hour or more. Their classmates applauded for the pair and they started to pack up their stuff for their next class. The rest of the group joined them as they started to chat. Gumshoe gave the pair a thumbs up while Maya patted Phoenix on the back. Franziska critiques on Miles's performance of how he could’ve beaten his partner if he used certain tactics.

“Great job, Nick”, Maya congratulated Phoenix, “At least you didn’t lose!”

“Oh, thanks, Maya. Edgeworth did a good job as well”, he replied sheepishly before replying quickly, “Oh, I forgot to congratulate your sister for her engagement! Be right back.”

As he headed towards Mia, he couldn’t still believe that she got engaged to her girlfriend, Lana Skye. It only seemed like yesterday when she introduced her to him. At first, she seemed to be reserved and a bit cold, quite the opposite of Mia who was the more adventurous and determined type. But later on, she appeared more of a hardworking and respectful woman. Even have a similar connection to Mia as they both share a motherly sister relationship with Maya and Lana’s little sister, Ema.

As a couple, they share matching scarfs and wear them similarly in fashion. Apparently, on their first anniversary as girlfriends, Mia gifted Lana a red scarf while Lana gifted Mia a yellow scarf. Even after all these years, they kept each other’s gifts. And now, they’re engaged.

While Phoenix congratulated Mia, Maya quickly sprung into action as she brought the group to the side for a secret chat. “Hey guys, do you think you can help me with something?”

“What’s up, pal?”, Gumshoe asked.

“Tomorrow's Phoenix’s birthday”, Maya explained, “and I’m planning a surprise birthday party for him. He usually doesn’t celebrate his birthday, he mainly celebrates mine and Sis’s, so I felt like he should have some fun with his friends. Wanna come?”

Gumshoe nodded. “Of course, he helped me with some of the past assignments we had. So count me in!”

Miles and Franziska stayed quiet so Maya asked again, “Do you guys want to come?”

After a silent moment, Franziska asked, “What exactly do you mean when you said birthday party?”

“What?! You guys never had a birthday party?”, Gumshoe and Maya asked, trying not to be too loud for Phoenix to hear.

Edgeworth peered at his Big Sister and knew that her face meant, that she was going to refuse, so he took her arm by surprise and answered for her, “Yes, we have had some in the past. But...um… yeah, we’ll be there. We should make a group chat so we can plan this out.”

He then pulled her aside just to speak to her in private. Finally alone, Franziska blurts out in German, their way to speak even more in private.

“What foolish nonsense did you put us in?!”, she scowled, “Why would we go to this ‘party’ for that fool, Phoenix Wright?”

“Listen, I’ll explain everything when we get home, okay?”, Edgeworth responded back in their discreet language.

Franziska crossed her arms. “Hmph, you better have a good explanation, Little Brother.”

The day flew by and before they knew it, they were heading home. Except, they did stop by the city mall for some gifts since Miles did text to Maya to confirm that they are going. Finally, they arrived home and Miles insisted that they should talk in his room.

He locked the door behind them while Franziska sat on the side of his bed. Bringing his shopping bags next to his desk, the boy sat on his chair and pulled out its contents.

“So, what’s your excuse?”, the sister questioned him, viewing her bags.

“Remember I told you about the friend I had when I was little”, Miles explained while he cut three long pieces of the red string that he bought.

“Yes, and?”

“If you couldn’t connect the pieces, that friend is Wright”, he responded as he began to braid the three strings.

She shook her head in disbelief. “N-No way, it can’t be Phoenix Wright! The friend that you told me about is way different than this fool! You described that friend as a joyous and determined boy, probably the best thing that ever happened to you. Wright is nothing but a real definition of a fool.” She remembered how her Little Brother would talk to her about his childhood, his friends, and his favorite show at the time, Signal Samurai. How he would even smile just talking about it. Every now and then, she would insist him to talk more about his past because she knew it was what made him happy. The least she could do as a sibling is to lift his spirits. But to think the gracious childhood friend is the same lousy fool...

Once he finished the braid into a bracelet, he turned his swirling chair at her. “That friend _is_ Phoenix Wright and they are the same person.” He turned his chair back to his work. “Also, don’t call him a fool.”

He started to cut another piece to start a new bracelet and Franziska sighed in defeat and turned her attention to his work. Particularly, the small purple box. “What’s that?”

He pauses his task to show her with the box on his palm. “Remember that antique shop back in Germany?” He opened the lid to reveal a golden wristwatch, glimmering brightly by the welcoming rays of the sun from his clear window. “I bought this watch from there. I didn’t put on myself so I decided to give it to Phoenix, I thought it would be nice for him.” Upon closer inspection, it was somewhat vintage but priceless as well, since there are only a few of these watches in the world. Quite a rare collectible.

“Wasn’t that where you got that pocket watch?”

“Yeah, I still have it.”, Miles responded while he pulled out the watch from his pocket. It was a bright silver with a strange black cover design. “I still find it fascinating.” He opened it up and blue smoke emerged from the clock. Through the smoke, an old-fashioned woman with a small sunhat and puffed-sleeved dress appeared with a clock on her hands. On the small holographic clock, it read the exact time as any other clock. However, it was the holographic woman’s voice that was strange. It spoke in a riddle,

_“It would be the colliding fate of soulmates that would change the balance of the universe.”_

“Well, that’s a different phrase from last time”, he responded, closing the lid. “Anyway, I have this watch so I can give the other one to Phoenix.”

He turned back to his work. “Although, I also wanted to give something handmade so I’m making bracelets to go with it.”

Reeling back, Franziska responded, “And you are doing this for his birthday.”

Miles was in the middle of adding another bead to the string while he answered, “Yeah. He’s my friend, after all.”

“Hilarious”, she huffed, which led Miles to spin his chair to face her. 

“...What?”

“If only you knew why you would do this foolish act”, she scoffed.

Confused, he raised a brow, wanting to know what she meant but her face was clear, that it was up to him to figure it out by himself. He groaned as he spun his chair back to the desk. _(Whatever did she mean by that?)_

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ 

The next morning was like any other in the von Karma household. Well, except for Franziska. She was given the task to convince her father to allow them to stay on campus for another hour. Usually, they come home at a specific time, strict in schedule, except for today that is. Specifically, her because she seemed to have a more persuasive way, being his daughter and all.

Standing in front of her father’s office door, she prayed to the universe that it would give her enough luck by her side. She knocked three times, loud compared to the eerie silenced hallway.

“Proceed.”

_(Stars, help me now.)_ She emerged into the room. On the other side of the space, there sat her father, Manfred von Karma, in his desk. He was buried in piles of paper in which she could assume was from his prosecuting job.

She cleared her throat. “Good morning, Papa. Please pardon my intrusion but I wished for your consent.”

He settled down the paper that he held and took a sip of a teacup that was placed right next to him. “Fine morning, Franziska. I presume you would like my permission in a matter?”

“Yes, Papa”, she gave a small nod, “Miles and I would like to request for us to spend another hour more on Ivy’s campus.”

“In what means?”

She gulped. “We have received an invitation from a group of the top students of our law class to study with them. We reasoned for us to become more familiar with Japanifornian law, quite different from Germany as they mentioned. However, we couldn’t accept before we received your consent first.” She held her head high with confidence. Half of it was certain, Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey were technically the top students of the class because of their mock trials and they had more knowledge of the country’s law than they do. Still, it was a lie and she had to, otherwise, her father would reject it immediately. _Fooling around with classmates is a distraction from your studies,_ he would say.

Slowly, von Karma took another sip of his tea, thinking of his answer. Once he settled the teacup on its saucer, he responded firmly, “Very well. However, the condition stands as it is, 1 hour. No later than that. Understood?”

She gave a small appreciative nod. “Of course, Papa, we accept your decision. We shall keep that in mind. I’ll tell Miles as soon as possible.”

It wasn’t until she closed the door behind her after she left when she let out a relieved sigh. _(That’s the best I could do.)_ Quickly, she headed downstairs where Edgeworth was waiting for her.

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅

The day of class went by once again, and soon enough, the class ended for the group. Maya and Franziska quickly rushed out of the door to decorate the private bench that was near the campus library while Gumshoe quickly went to his dorm room to fetch the cake that Maya brought for the occasion. That left Miles with the last task: bring Phoenix to the party. Luckily, Mia called Phoenix after class for a small chat, giving the group time to prepare.

“So, you’re already making preparations for your wedding?”, Phoenix questioned, adjusting the blue sweater of his usual attire.

“Yes, we are trying to figure out if our wedding spot would be the one”, Mia explained, “So we’re going to be traveling for several days. I hope you don’t mind but can you take care of Maya for me?”

“Sure, after all, we don’t want another ‘incident’ happening again”, the artist chuckled. The last time Mia went for a trip, Maya nearly burned the apartment down trying to make pancakes. She was considered lucky that Phoenix was stopping by for a visit before a fire started.

They gave their goodbyes and Phoenix picked up his bag to leave. But while he was exiting the classroom, Miles was there waiting for him. He had a maroon sweater with a button-up shirt underneath, as well as black pants and loafers. Somehow it fitted quite well with his personality.

“Miles?”, Phoenix jumped to see him, “W-what are you doing here?”

With one backpack strap over his shoulder, he shrugged, “I was wondering if you can study with me for the upcoming test. It’s alright if you have other plans, though.” He added the last statement in, just for a bit of reverse psychology.

“No”, Phoenix reassured, “I would love-I mean-I would like to study with you. It would be my pleasure to help out.” He blushed, even redder when he slipped up.

Somehow, Miles didn’t take note of it. “I suggest we do it at the library. There are a lot of private places for us to have one on one conversations.”

Phoenix nodded, maybe a little too eager. “Yeah, great idea!”

As they made their way across campus together, Phoenix began to daydream for a bit. _(I can’t believe it! Miles asked me to hang out with him and on my birthday! This is the best day ever!)_ Then, there was a sudden thought to hold Edgeworth’s hand, being right next to him. But instead, he turned red and stuffed his hands in his pockets, just to control his temptation.

It wasn’t until they got nearer to the library that he noticed that they weren’t _entering_ the library. He stayed silent in hopes that Miles would give in explanation. 

Yet, the student didn’t say a word. Instead, he insisted for them to go to the area _behind_ the library. The artist gulped, “Uh, Edgeworth? What’s going on-”

“SURPRISE!”

Phoenix jumped in shock to find the rest of the friend group around a picnic bench. The small area was decorated with some streamers and a colorful plastic tablecloth. On the tabletop laid a small birthday cake, enough slices for all of them.

“What?”, he gasped, “What’s all this?”

Miles turned to him with a smile. “We felt like you deserved a small celebration for your birthday, just with us.”

Wright was beginning to tear up, captivated by his friends’ intentions, but Maya instead pulled him towards the table. “Come on, Nick! We have lots to celebrate right now.”

After a nice sing along to the birthday melody and a blow of a few candles, they quickly began to cut the white frosted cake to share. They gave Phoenix the honorary first slice, which made him even more surprised at its appearance. It was red velvet, his favorite cake flavor.

“How did you know it was my favorite?”, he asked Maya, “I haven’t even told you that I loved red velvet.”

She handed some slices to Miles and Franziska. “Edgeworth told me. He said it was your favorite back then.”

Miles gave another small smile, only to Phoenix, leaving him feeling all giddy inside. _(He remembered after all these years? My stars…)_ He took a bite and somehow, knowing that fact made the cake taste even better.

Oh, how his birthday turned out. This morning, Tikki gave a gift to him. A magatama called a “Kwagatama” and apparently, this was given on the holder's birthday, anniversaries, and other occasions. His was emerald green and around the size of his palm. She wrapped it with a handkerchief and explained the weird side of creating it. A kwami first collects the hair of their current wielder and stores them in their bodies along with the hair of their former wielders. Then afterward for the next few months, it changes into a resin or something like that. When the time of the occasion comes, they do a small dance and spit it out.

Or as Phoenix summed it up, an old magical hairball. Still, he appreciated it so much. As a small thank you, he made red velvet cupcakes, just a small change from the usual cookies. Such a coincidence that they would have red velvet for his birthday! _The best birthday_ , he noted to himself.

Franziska looked down at her slice, concerned by the aftermath of finishing it. She looked at Miles, telepathically warning him that they couldn’t spoil their dinner, too noticeable for them. But he looked back with soft eyes, _just for this once._

Although, Edgeworth couldn’t blame her for being somewhat confused about the small celebration. Back in Germany, they would celebrate their parties with huge galas and fancy dinners with the high class. As they got older, they began to have suitors for the beginning of their dating life. Even though they both felt uncomfortable and unsatisfied by it, they tried to go along. 

But being here with other friends in somewhere private, it felt...pleasing. Perfect even! Miles took a bite of his slice, taking in the welcoming scene in front of him. _(Yeah. I like it. Stars, I wish our birthdays were like this...)_

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

In between the outskirts of the city and the high rise, a local daycare remained in its usual way. Kids running around enthusiastically and volunteers trying not to get migraines. Perhaps it was harder because one of their best volunteers, Phoenix Wright, wouldn’t come until tomorrow, being his day off and his birthday. So for now, they finally decided to give the children clay to play with and let them bring their creations home.

One of the boys of the table was flattening a lump of red clay with a plastic roll, not too thick and not too thin. Pleased of what he did, he placed the piece carefully on top of the other colorful layers, ending it as a rainbow mountain. Using his small fingers, he softly pressed the layers from the outside, trying not to leave any finger dents.

Once he finished it, he placed on a proud smile and placed a wooden popsicle on top, through the center. He made a pretend birthday cake, all with rainbow colors and a wooden candle with it. Somehow, he felt so much joy for his creation. He quickly got off his seat to get to his cubby and carried his teddy bear back to his creation. Playfully, he presented his small friend to the colorful cake and invited him to a tiny birthday party.

Still, the thought of it also made him sad. He wasn’t well-liked in the daycare, being the new kid to the group. He tried to make some friends with the other kids but they seemed to kind of ignore him. He even tried to show off some yoyo tricks that he knew but he got nervous and failed every time he tried, which wasn’t usual for him to do.

That was when he met Phoenix Wright. On the several days that he came, many of the kids wanted to play with him but Wright invited the small boy to their games and activities. They even roleplayed some action scenes of the superheroes that were shown on the news. Somehow, he felt included.

At home, things were quite different than daycare. His parents worked on nearly every hour, leaving him mostly in the daycare or with babysitters. At that young age, he understood why they had to leave him alone at times, but he wished they could spend a little time with him. Even for an hour at least. Due to them working for low income, they only were able to earn enough money to cover the bills and grocery shopping. So he missed out on the many celebrations he had, including his birthdays.

He heard whispers of how the other kids had theirs, from giant cakes to having private beach parties. It all sounded like a dream to him. But it was only a dream, not a reality. He took the little tray of his creation and his bear to the corner of the room, slumping sadly on the carpet. He even tried singing happy birthday to himself but he broke into a quiet sob, unable to hold back tears.

“ _Hey!_ ”

He jumped by the sharp voice and quickly cleaned his tears with his thin sleeve. It was one of the volunteers, more specifically, the most hated. It was a young woman and yet, she has the attitude of a grumpy old lady. Many of the kids are terrified of her, even by the sound of her voice. The boy gulped in fear.

“What are you crying?!”, she scowled.

“I-I’m playing”, he tried to explain without letting out a whimper, “Today’s my birthday and-”

“No one cares”, she snapped, “Just shut up! And would you stop crying! You look pathetic like that.”

“But-”

“I SAID SHUT UP!”, she yelled at him and pulled him by the arm. “Looks like you need a time out!”

He squirmed, wanting to bring his toy along but it only made her pull his arm harder. So he was forcefully placed on the time-out chair, alone and confused.

“What did I do wrong?”, he mumbled as tears slowly ran down his cheeks. Just out of rage, he pulled out a small party popper, crushed from the pocket of his red shorts, and was ready to throw it at the floor in front of him. Instead, he only held it in his cupped hands while he sobbed quietly in his chair. _(I wish I didn’t have my birthday…)_

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

On the other side of the city, a dark lair’s window opened wide to welcome the afternoon light while butterflies accepted the day, fluttering freely around the room.

Dark Moth stood tall with his tall cane and declared in a booming voice, “A lonesome boy in a day of celebration. A perfect victim for my Akuma.”

Letting a white butterfly land on his hand, he grasped it with his other hand, letting the miraculous power to its job, swirling the butterfly with dark energy. Letting go of the dark moth, he instructed it, “Fly away my little Akuma and emerge with his troubling soul.”

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

The boy could only sob while the other children continued to play, unaware of his presence in the dark corner. And suddenly, a dark butterfly came fluttering in front of him. Although, his eyes were a bit blurry from his crying. The Akuma flew down and landed on the crushed popper, possessing the object with its dark energy.

“Birthday Boy”, a deep voice presented itself in his head, “I’m Dark Moth. I can give you the power to create the birthday celebration that you deserve. In exchange, I ask that you bring Beetle Bug’s and Kuro Neko’s miraculous.”

He got off from his seat, clutching the popper in his fist, his face pulling into a grin. “It would be the best party ever, Dark Moth.” Dark energy swirled around the boy while the other kids scrambled away in fear, just to hear a bone-chilling laugh of the child.

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

Surprisingly, Phoenix couldn’t believe what he received so far. Gumshoe gifted him a golden wing pin, priding on how good he polished the old pin, especially since it was from a local antique shop. Franziska gave him a professional art kit, warning him not to waste it on useless projects. Phoenix didn’t expect Franny would give him something valuable since their first meeting wasn’t the best interaction he had. Even with her glares, he still appreciated her gift greatly. Passing on to that, he was finishing unwrapping Maya’s present.

Opening the gift bag, he looked inside in disbelief. Slowly, he pulled out two hoodies. The first was a Beetle Bug inspired one and the other was a Kuro Neko one. But they weren’t the only things in the bag. From what he could tell, the rest of its contents was a whole collection of superhero-themed merch.

He gave her a look. “Maya, did you just really give me the whole collection of your merch store?”

Maya placed her hands on her hips as if her trust was betrayed. “Well duh! It’s time for you to enter the fandom!”

She grabbed the Beetle hoodie from his lap and showed it off to the rest, “Now you can be one of us!”

“Ah, well, I’m more of a Kuro fan”, he nervously chuckled, praying the stars above that no one finds out his identity.

“Really?”, Miles perked up, probably a little too high than he intended to. He cleared his throat to calm himself. “May I ask why?”

“W-well”, the artist flustered, trying to find an excuse. “I think he’s cool. You know, with the destructive powers and stuff.” Stars, he felt like he was trapped inside of an oven, sweating profoundly.

“So, Edgeworth”, Maya changing the subject, “Whose fan are you?”

“Oh”, Miles flushed pink, already having the thought in his head, “I guess I’m considered as a Beetle fan.”

While Phoenix internally screamed by his crush’s response, Maya’s tongue clicked and she gave him some finger guns. “Well then, I’ll hitch you up with some Beetle merch!”

Franziska scowled, “Enough talk about these foolish heroes, we still need to open one last present, from Miles.”

But before Miles could open his backpack to retrieve it, a crackle rose. From… above them? All of their gazes averted upwards to see a small boy on a flying, triangular carpet. However, the boy was made out of assorted balloons and colored a splatter of polka dots and stripes. But it was around the balloon boy’s arm was off guard. It appeared to be a party popper in the form of a cannon blaster.

The boy crackled once more before he announced, “Time for the party to begin!” Quickly, he sent blasts raining down at them.

The group quickly scrambled to the nearby library but there was something that was holding Miles back. And it wasn’t his backpack because he was holding it. _(Wait, where’s Phoenix_?) He frantically turned in circles to see that the artist was missing. 

“Phoenix?”, Miles called out as his steel eyes searched around, “Phoenix? Where are you?”

Suddenly, the corner of his eyes caught a bright beam coming to his right. He closed his eyes as he knew that it was too late to dodge but somehow, the impact didn’t come. Instead, he was brought out of the way in comforting arms. Edgeworth opened his eyes to see who carried him, only to meet those familiar blue eyes behind that spotted mask.

“Sorry to barge in like that”, Beetle Bug apologized as he settled him down to his feet, “but I’m glad that I was able to save you in time.”

Miles suddenly felt unguarded, blushing pink to see his partner. “Oh, um… thank you for saving me. Sorry for risking your life as well, I didn’t mean to make myself a target…”

“Oh no, it’s alright...um… Just make sure you stay safe in that building. Kuro and I will control the situation”, the red bug flustered but reassured before turning away towards the battle.

“Wait”, the boy exclaimed and grabbed Beetle by the arm for a second, “My friend Phoenix is still out there! He could be in danger!”

Beetle bit his lip at the name but turned around one more time to place his hand on the student’s shoulder, “Don’t worry! I was able to take him to safety before you so he is hiding in a nearby building right now. Just stay safe, okay?”

Miles felt his breath caught in his throat when his partner’s hand on his shoulder so he gave a small nod with his blushing face, which was enough for Beetle to go back to the battle. The boy headed and slipped in through the fire escape door, letting out a smitten sigh. Plagg, who was in his backpack, flew out and gave a frustrated look once he saw his owner’s face.

“Listen, kid, I know you have a crush on this guy but we got work to do.”

“Hmm, Beetle came to save me and physically carried me. Stars, he’s so strong”, Miles hummed, but then he cupped his blushing face in embarrassment, “Oh stars above, he had to save _ME!_ The laser could’ve hit him and I just stood there like _a fucking idiot._ ”

The kwami flew above the boy’s head and patted his warm gray hair, “There there, kiddo. You can think of your biggest regrets later but right now, we have to help Beetle.”

“Yeah”, Miles agreed as Plagg landed on his opened cupped hands, “You’re right.”

After letting a breath out, he squared up his shoulders and let the kwami fly again. “Alright, let’s go!”

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

**“Plagg, Claws Out!”**

With the swiftness of electrifying magic passing through him while Plagg was sucked into his ring, he was flashed into his hero persona, Kuro Neko.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

With that, he opened the exit to leave the building but he stopped once he saw what laid in front of him. He peered down at his feet to see a small wooden box, weirdly shaped as a hexagonal prism with a red painted design on the lid, contrasting brightly against the black wood. He picked it up and peered at the small sticky note.

“Choose wisely”, it read.

He did flip it over to the backside to see if there was any more information but nothing, only those two words marked in shining ink. Despite the small amount given, he knew it might’ve been someone that knew his identity. Beetle did tell him on one of those patrol nights of how he got his miraculous. 

Given that the description that his partner gave and what he was seeing right now, it gave enough information that it was a miraculous. And that would mean that it was from the “Master” who was the holder of the MiracleBox, according to his conversations with Plagg. He slipped the note into the pocket of his suit and decided to open the box to peer at which jewel it was…

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

“Stars, this is ridiculous!,” Franziska huffed, “First, Phoenix Wright goes missing and now my Little Brother?! How do they get into this such foolery during an Akuma attack?”

Apparently, this attack was going on while they started the party so many of the students on campus stayed indoors. Mainly, a lot of them hang around the common room tables, allowing them to have conversations. Including these three, standing around.

“I’m sure Beetle Bug and Kuro Neko have this under control. Maybe the akumatized victim attacked them already?”, Maya suggested as she comforted the girl.

Gumshoe crossed his arms. “No way, pal! We saw how smart they are in our mock trials so I’m sure they dodged the attack somehow.”

Franziska snapped, “How could you be certain? We are stuck in here until those foolish heroes finish this off! Besides, Scruffy, what are we supposed to do?”

After a moment of fidgeting the red pencil that was usually placed behind his ear, he snapped his fingers. “Well, we go search for them! The only building that was closest to them is this library. Which means there is a high chance that they are in here somewhere.”

Maya threw her fist up confidently. “That’s right! Maybe even Beetle and Kuro hid them in a different room! We should split up: Gumshoe, take the first floor. Franny, take the second and I’ll take the basement museum. Text in the group chat for any updates, got it?”

“Got it, pal”, Gumshoe exclaimed as he gave a salute before dashing out into the library hallway.

Franziska, who still stood, sighed firmly with her arms crossed, “Do you think they are here, Maya?”

“Of course! Sometimes, you have to believe in possibilities”, she gave a soft smile.

Somehow, that smile made Franziska feel...weird. In the sense that she wasn’t used to believing before. She would usually come up with the most logical path and take the initiative to do it. Well, that was at least what her Papa taught her. But to go into something without knowing what it would lead to, going blindly into the hole of mystery? She sensed that it was something that Wright would do, especially during the mock trials and considering that he and Maya had a close sibling-like relationship.

She gave a small nod, “If this leads to nothing, then it was a waste of time to believe in this foolish possibility...”

Her friend smiled even wider and grabbed her by the hand, “C’mon, let’s go find our brothers!” Together, they exited the common room.

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

Gumshoe already passed what seemed like a hundred doors, mostly filled with old dusty archives, and he still couldn’t find those boys. He even decided to search into the janitor’s closet while he opened its door. Nothing. He sighed in disappointment as he closed the closet door with a soft click. He was passing by the fire escape door right next to the closet until he was abruptly pulled in by someone. It did take a few seconds to surpass the sudden shock to realize who pulled him in.

“Kuro Neko?”

As it turned out, it was the cat hero, Kuro Neko, who was standing a few feet in front of him with a small box in hand. Kuro apologized, “Sorry to startle you but I needed to speak to you in private.”

“What are doing here, pal? Aren’t you guys battling outside?”, Gumshoe scratched his head in curiosity.

The hero cleared his throat before peering seriously with the gray lens of his mask, “Well...um...apparently, it seemed harder than it looks so we need some help. From what I've heard, you are looking for your friends, correct?”

“Yeah”, Gumshoe responded, “I've been trying to look for them but they don’t seem to appear…”

With much thought, Kuro compromised, “There is a way that we can achieve both of these problems at the same time. However, I would need your cooperation to help. Do you think you’re up to the task?”

Happily, Gumshoe smiled, “If it is to save my friends, then you can count on me, pal!”

That was all he needed from him. Kuro handed out the small box on the palm of his gloved hand. “Dick Gumshoe, this is the miraculous of the turtle, which grants you the power of protection. You will use it for the greater good.”

Gumshoe nodded and carefully grabbed the box to his own hands. The hero continued, “Once the job is done, you will hand the miraculous back to me. Do you think you can promise that?”

“Alright, pal”, Gumshoe agreed, “I’ll give it all I got!”

Kuro gave a small nod as a signal of permission for Gumshoe to open the box. There was a bright flash and a ball of light swirled around the student before revealing a turtle kwami in front of him.

Gumshoe blinked a few times to make sure he wasn’t imagining. “Woah, what are you, pal? An alien or something?”

“I’m a kwami and my name is Wayzz”, the kwami introduced himself. “I give you superpowers.”

“We would need the miraculous’ power to complete the task so whenever you’re ready… ”, Kuro said patiently.

Gumshoe quickly wrapped the turtle bracelet around his wrist before squaring up his shoulders. “Ready.”

“Alright, just say ‘Wayzz, Shell On!;”, the kwami instructed.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

**“Wayzz, Shell On!”**

The swift magic passed through him with Wayzz being sucked into the green bracelet, he clapped his hands, constructing his green-tiled mask. As he spread his arms out, the magic created his green suit with a hoodie, cargo style pants, and knee-high boots. Once the magic reached his cuffed hands, the magic generated a green hexagonal shield to his fist.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

Amazed, Gumshoe looked at his new persona. “Woah, pal, this is amazing!”

Kuro agreed with a nod, remembering what it was like to experience his first transformation. Putting a finger in the air, he warned the new hero, “Now listen, you are only given the ability once so don’t say the magic words out loud. Not until it is really necessary. Got it?”

Gumshoe only gave a thumbs up. Kuro advised him that they should quickly join Beetle, worried if his partner would be in danger. They raced out of the fire exit door to the back area, only to see Beetle trying to dodge the laser by hiding against a brick wall. They joined him with Beetle raising an astonishing brow at the newcomer.

“Oh, look what the cat dragged in”, Beetle Bug smirked at his partner with a hint of exhaustion in his tone.

Kuro clutched his arm awkwardly, “Sorry we’re late. So, what’s the situation?”

Beetle shook his head, “Not good. It seems to be a child who got akumatized. He has a laser, whatever it touches turns them into party decorations. I can use my yoyo to block the attack but it wouldn’t last long.”

“Know where the object is?”

“No clue but I have a hunch, that it _may_ be the blaster”, he shrugged at the cat, “I’ve been trying not to die here!”

“Well, I got news for you, Buggaboy! I gave the turtle miraculous to a person that I trusted. It will give us the power of protection”, Kuro introduced to Gumshoe, who was looking at the scene. “Besides, it does seem logical that the akumatized object would be the source of their power.”

Gumshoe himself turned to them and gestured at the victim with his pointer finger, “This guy is persistent. What’s the plan?”

But before any more words could be said, a giant blast demolished the wall next to them, sending the 3 heroes into the air and crashing on the solid ground. Frantically, they peered up to the laughing victim.

“Oh, what’s the matter?”, the boy grinned, “The party has just begun!”

With a couple more blasts, the heroes quickly leaped themselves to their feet and dodged. Beetle Bug had to do a high backflip for his escape, just for a laser to miss him merrily inches from his face. _(No wonder we needed that miraculous! He’s too powerful…)_

Suddenly, Kuro used his baton and flung himself into the air, towards the victim.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

**“Cataclysm”**

Black energy whirled around his single fist, bubbling for destruction.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

With an air flip, he used his destructive finger and tried to touch the blaster. But instead, he missed and touched the small metal part that was a piece of the blaster, but not exactly the blaster itself. Kuro crashed into the ground but quickly sprinted out of the way as another blast nearly hit him. He looked back and saw that that blast crumpled the ground, destroyed to the point that it looked like the aftermath of a meteor crash. On the other side of the field, Beetle gulped at the scene. _(That cataclysm made the blasts even stronger somehow!)_

From the corner of his blue eyes, he spotted the green hero using his circular shield as the laser hit him. However, instead of absorbing the dark energy, the shield deflected it and nearly hit the victim. Suddenly, the boy grew more furious for the new hero using his power against him, sending more blasts to the turtle.

Consequently for not paying attention, one of the blasts was heading towards Beetle, shining intensely, but he was abruptly tackled out of its way, just in time. Dazed, Beetle peered to see that it was Kuro who tackled him to the side. His partner quickly kneeled towards him and inspected his freckled face. 

He sighed in relief but he frowned, “Honestly, Beetle, you got to look where you were going. You-”

A voice above them interrupted, “Looks like it’s present time!” 

They glanced to see the boy pointing the blaster towards them. Beetle dashed to use the yoyo as a shield but it instead flopped onto the ground, weakened and unable to take another hit. Kuro tried to find his baton but he spotted it just a couple of yards away, too far to reach. They looked at each other for a small second. They both knew it was the end. 

As a giant blast headed towards them, a familiar figure stood in front of them and held his shield into the air.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

**“Shell-ter!”**

The shield generated a massive, spherical green force field around them, illuminating green hexagonal shapes.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

The blast hit the force field as the ground slightly trembled by the impact. After a blinding moment, the blast stopped and the grounded pair peered up at the savior. It was the new hero! Letting out a relieved breath, the pair stood up but both of them realized something was odd. 

They looked at each other and then, downwards to their hands. They both jumped at what they did. They were holding hands. 

The pair quickly let go as they awkwardly looked away from each other, embarrassed at the realization. Neither of them knew who grabbed the other’s hand first. The eerie silence only lasted for a moment before Beetle walked over to the green hero who still held the shield close to himself. “Thanks for saving us. But now we only have limited time for you and Kuro. We need to come up with a plan…”

Kuro walked over to pick up his stick before joining them, his ring beeping as a warning. “We could use some luck right now.”

“I guess you’re right, Kuro”, Beetle snickered at his partner for the surprising advice, “We need a bit of surprise…”

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

**“Lucky Charm!”**

With the flick of his wrist, his yoyo was launched into the air as magic ladybugs swirled above it, constructing the object needed for the task.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

A huge spotted mirror landed on Beetle’s hands while the three of them stared at the object. The regular two groaned as they looked at each other with annoyance in their eyes. _The Lucky Charm’s never going to give us something normal_ , they thought.

Even Gumshoe raised a brow and scratched his head. “What are you supposed to do with that? Put clown makeup on and put on a show?”

Beetle was going to shake his head, but then, an idea formed in his head. _(Wait... A distraction?)_ He looked around his surroundings for clues while the force field stood firm.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

The mirror

The turtle’s shield

His yoyo

Kuro’s baton

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

“I got it! Here’s the plan: you guys set up the mirror while I distract him”, Beetle explains while he exchanges the baton with the mirror to Kuro. “Once the time is right, we strike! Got it?”

The other two nodded, “Got it!” Gumshoe deactivated the force field before they scrambled to their tasks. Gumshoe and Kuro took the mirror and hid behind a nearby tree, positioning it into a correct angle. On the other side of the battle, Beetle ran from the blasts as he whirled both the baton and yoyo as double shields, the only way he could protect himself from all sides. It almost seemed like he was tap dancing, rambling his feet across the ground. In some occasional times, Beetle glanced at the hiding pair for a sign of their readiness.

Until Kuro gave a quick thumbs-up, Beetle slid the baton across the ground to Kuro, but still kept the attention of the victim by singing Happy Birthday. Sure, he has sung before, in his alone free time, but his current singing isn’t the best as the scales were off or either off-key by his squirming to safety. He can’t get hit, after all.

At the right moment, Kuro threw his baton like a boomerang to ease the attention towards the pair. As the victim dove towards them, Gumshoe threw his shield like a Frisbee at the boy, purposely missing him. The laser blasted and the pair aimed the hidden mirror at the victim. Incredibly, the laser bounced off the reflecting glass and hit the boy. Letting out one last defeated shout, the boy transformed into a red present. Beetle, who was already waiting under it, catches the wrapped box.

He opened it to reveal a dark party popper. The bad part was that they already used cataclysm. So instead, he dropped the object to the ground and hopped on it with the full force of his weight. He stepped off and the Akuma emerged from the crashed object.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

Beetle opened his yoyo into purification mode with the swipe of his finger and swung in circles, 

**“No more evil-doing for you, little Akuma... Time to De-evilize!”**

With the swipe of his yoyo, he brought the captured Akuma back in the palm of his hand,

“ **Gotcha!** ” 

Pressing the middle spot, the yoyo opened to release the now purified butterfly,

“ **Bye-bye, little butterfly.** ”

Finally, he launched his lucky charm into the air to repair the damage that has been done,

“ **Miraculous Beetle Bug!** ”

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

The ladybugs swirled around the city and the field, bringing all the party decorations into civilians again. Lastly, the red gift turned back into a small boy.

“Wha- what happened?”, the boy questioned in unfamiliar surroundings while laying on the ground.

Beetle kneeled at the boy and helped him to his feet, “It’s okay, little guy. We saved the day, that’s all.”

The boy’s eyes quickly shined when he peered at the trio. “Woah, it’s you guys! The superheroes!” His tone sounded hype especially since Beetle talked to him.

Beetle turned serious but calm, “I hope I don’t mind asking but can you tell me what happened?”

The boy’s excitement fell into gloom. “I...I was sad because today was my birthday and I always have wished for a great birthday party just like the ones that my classmates had. But my parents are poor and work a lot so I couldn’t have the same fun they had. No one said happy birthday to me…”

Standing next to his partner, Kuro peered at the boy with empathy, knowing well what it was like to not have your special day celebrated with family. Sure, he had big parties, along with Franziska but it wasn’t the same. 

“Oh, today’s your birthday?”

Bringing himself back into reality, he suddenly watched Beetle stand up to open his yoyo into pouch mode and pulled out a red cupcake. Red velvet, to be exact.

“Happy birthday then, little guy”, Beetle smiled as he handed the treat to the surprised boy. “I know this isn’t much but I hope you like red velvet.”

“Are you kidding? This is the best present I ever had! Thank you, Beetle Bug!”, the boy exclaimed from the rising happiness and hugged the red bug tightly.

Kuro, shocked by Beetle’s talent, patted his partner on the back. “I didn’t know you were good with kids.” 

Beetle, who was hugging the boy back, smiled at his partner. “Well, you should give it a try sometime.”

The boy excitedly let go, careful not to ruin his dessert and peered at the cat. “Oh my stars, you’re Kuro Neko! I saw you fight on the news and you’re so amazing at it!”

Bashfully, Kuro gave a small handshake to the boy. “T-thank you. All in duty as a superhero.”

“Of course! Fight crime and save people from evil!”, the boy responded enthusiastically. He then peered at Gumshoe in even more awe. “Oh, you’re a new hero! What’s your name, sir?”

Gumshoe didn’t expect for him to question but thought for a moment for a name, handing out his fist for a fistbump. “I’m… uh… Jade Shell. Nice to meet you, pal!

The boy’s eyes widened and he bumped the new hero’s fist, speechless. Beetle giggled at the child’s awe while Kuro wondered how he even reached that level of interacting with small kids. But again, all of their jewelry beeped for their last minutes.

“I take him back. After all, you two have less time than me”, Beetle insisted to his partner, holding out his fist for a fist bump for the other two.

**“Pound it!”** , the three said in unison.

“See you on patrol night, Kuro”, Beetle gave his farewell before he swung carefully with the child in his arms.

Again, his partner was gone into the sea of buildings. Kuro sighed lovingly, _Never failed to surprise me, huh?_

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

The eerie quietness crept against the walls of the small lair while the glowing white butterflies fluttered within their freedom. Dark Moth stood tall while he analyzed the situation.

“A new ally came into your aid for the first time. As much as this may be an advantage for you, it gave me the confirmation I needed. The guardian lives on within your midst, the one I shall take revenge for after all these years.”

The window shut itself, plunging all into the darkness, along with the final wicked laugh that echoed in the eeriness.

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

Kuro Neko quickly led Jade Shell back into the building before their timers ran out. Fortunately, with only a few seconds leftover, Gumshoe was able to detransform in the same empty fire escape staircase. As promised, he handed back the turtle bracelet to Kuro, placed nicely inside the small wooden box.

“Well, pal, I’m glad that I could be of some assistance for you guys”, Gumshoe thanked with a proud smile.

“All things considered, you earned our trust and for that, we would like to offer up the miraculous to you again if another occasion like this comes up.”

“No problem! You can find me again if you need me! But if you excuse me, I need to find my friends since the battle is over. Thanks again, pal”, Gumshoe responded before he slipped out into the hallway.

Now with that done, Kuro peered down at the box wondering how he was supposed to return it. He could feel the electric energy swirl off him as he detransformed and saw Plagg on his side. The kwami groaned, “Miles, I’m so tired and hungry! Do you have any more cheese in your bag?”

He pulled the stick note out of his pocket as he hoped it would lead to some clue but suddenly, both the box and note disappeared into green flames, not leaving a trace behind. Miles jerked back for a bit what happened but concluded that it was magic. At this point, it seemed the most logical sense with all these miraculous and super abilities so it didn’t seem far off. 

“Nope. Sorry Plagg, but I can give you some of that cake that I didn’t finish”, Miles offered as Plagg flew into his bag.

“But nothing beats a hungry stomach than a good slice of Camembert”, Plagg mumbled from the bag. “Besides, don’t we have to find your friends?”

“Yeah, I don’t want to get them too worried about me”, Miles whispered to his companion as he made his way to the common room. There he spotted Maya, Franziska, and Gumshoe nearby a table. As if his presence was noticeable, they turned to find him as well.

Maya pointed out as they all ran up to him, “Oh, Edgeworth! You’re safe!”

“Miles Edgeworth, you have better tell us where you have been this whole time! We were searching all over for you!”, his Big Sister demanded.

_(Oh, boy...)_ “I had a perfectly good reason, Franziska: Beetle saved me from an attack and hid me in a different room. The room was locked though so I stayed there until some magic or something unlocked it for me.” 

Gumshoe nodded, “Thank the stars, we just glad you made it. But where’s Phoenix?”

Miles gulped. _(Beetle, please tell me what you did was true.)_ Even without a response from anyone, they headed to the picnic area in hopes to find him there. He wasn’t there until they heard a voice from the main sidewalk. It was Phoenix, running up to them. 

Exhausted, he waved his hands in apology. “Sorry for worrying you guys. Beetle rescued me and advised me to run as far away as I can. Thank the stars that I received a notification that the attack was over.” _(I also needed to chat with the daycare staff in my hero persona to give some words of advice.)_

Nevertheless, Maya nudged the artist by the arm. “Oh, you guys got so lucky to meet Beetle Bug. See, Nick, Beetle is cool too.”

“Alright alright”, Phoenix nervously chuckled, “Whatever you say.” _(If only you knew…)_

Franziska jumped to the vibration of her phone, She pulled it out to see the notification of her alarm. “I apologize, but it seems that our time ran out. We won’t be able to stay for another hour.”

“Don’t worry. We understand”, Phoenix forgave the siblings.

The group began to pick up their table, folding up the plastic cloth and Maya packing what’s left of the cake. Phoenix was recycling some plastic utensils when Miles pulled him aside for a moment.

“I’m sorry that your party has been cut short”, Edgeworth apologized. “I guess your day was ruined, huh?”

Phoenix shook his head before giving a soft smile. “Not at all! You guys came to celebrate my birthday and that’s the greatest gift of all!”

“Speaking of gifts, I have something for you”, Miles announced, reaching into his bag and pulling out a wrapped box. “I wasn’t able to give this to you for all that was going on.”

Mesmerized, Phoenix stared at the present when Miles gently handed it to him. The box was made of royal purple felt and tied into a silver ribbon. He curiously pulled the ribbon and opened the lid. It was a watch and bracelet set. The watch was golden and polished, shining against the bright sun. But it was the two bracelets that caught his attention. One was handmade, braided in red string. The other was beaded, colorful beads held together by the same red string. One of the beads was a nametag that had engraved the artist’s name. _Phoenix_ , it read.

He felt speechless but managed to say, “Edg- Miles, this is so wonderful! Thank you, I just don’t know what to say!” A blush ran across his freckled face. “Really, Miles, I love it.”

Letting out a sigh of satisfaction, Miles smiled, “I’m glad you liked it! I noticed that you were wearing that gold chain around your neck and I figured that you might like this.”

“Oh! This?”, he pulled out the necklace from under his shirt, “Yeah, I do. Remember this?”

Miles peered at the Signal Blue keychain that hung on the chain and lightly gasped, “You still have that thing?”

He nodded. "Of course, you still have yours, don't you?

The student stepped back and slowly clutched the hand that was in his pocket into a fist, wrapping his fingers around the object. He shook his head. "Maybe… I-I mean… I don't know where it is…"

The artist's expression changed from joy to mild confusion. "It's okay. I thought I wrote to you about it-"

"Wait", Miles blurted out, trying to understand, "Wrote me what?"

Phoenix's eyes widened to the statement. _(Wait, so you didn't…)_ He cleared his throat and nervously smiled, "Sorry, I meant _told_ you about it. Just a slip of the tongue, sorry."

Not entirely convinced, Edgeworth wanted to press more into it. But he decided to let it slide since Wright looked uncomfortable. "It's alright, it happens." But he kept his clenched hand in his pocket.

The group parted ways to the comfort of their own homes. Phoenix and Maya took the subway together since tonight is a sleepover night at the Feys' apartment. While Maya babbled how she was trying to find him and Miles in the library, Phoenix was lost in thought about what Miles told him. _(Did he not read my letters? I thought that I sent them to the address he gave me… He couldn’t have thrown them away; it’s not like him… maybe… maybe he got the street wrong or something. Maybe I got it wrong...)_

“Nick? Nick? Phoenix?”

The thought bubble has been popped and Phoenix turns to Maya, who has been calling him. “Wha-what?”

Maya poked him on his head, “Didn’t you hear me? I asked if there was something wrong.” The artist’s face told a different story that Maya asked again, “ _Is_ there something wrong?”

Wright only shook his head and gave a genuine smile, “No, I’m fine.”

But when he looked away, Maya’s eyes still locked on his unsettled grin, wondering what’s going on inside his head…

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

There wasn’t much of a chat while Franziska drove her and Miles back to the mansion. Only a bit of scolding that _We shouldn’t have eaten that cake_ and _Why on Earth would Beetle leave him in a locked room?_ and so on. But that wasn’t what Miles was focusing on.

While she was distracted, Edgeworth discretely pulled out the object that he was clutching in his pocket. It was a golden necklace chain and attached was his keychain, Signal Red. Looking down at it, he still couldn’t believe that Phoenix kept his keychain after all these years. Not to mention the same way they kept them, on _golden chains_. He has talked to Maya over text about how Larry was and she did mention that he grew out of their childhood fandom and threw his keychain away. So only his and Phoenix had theirs. Although, he had to take off his today because Franziska might’ve noticed it around his neck.

What he didn’t get was what Phoenix had told him. Even though he said it was a slip-up, it certainly didn’t feel like that was the case. Puzzled, he decided to use a bit of logic. Commonly, people slip up with their own words but when they have their mock trials, Phoenix would stutter when he messes up his sentences. Unlike the trials, however, the artist didn’t stutter at all. So Miles concluded that his previous statement was true, that he had written about his keychain. 

But that left him with one question, "Wrote on what?". Not a text, it wouldn’t make sense in the context. _Maybe he wrote it on a post-it or notebook_ , he suspected. It made sense, that seemed rational. And yet, there was this urge inside of him that it wasn’t the truth. Stumped, he let it be a mystery, for now, letting his gaze roam through the rolled-down window. 

While the concern about each other’s exchange grew, they also felt the connection they shared, a glimpse of their childhood. Could it be destiny that brought them together? It would only be a riddle for them to know the truth. However, an incoming test of their string of fate by a visit of a certain cousin will challenge them to their greatest limits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to having classes soon, I'll try to work on the later episodes during my free time. See you in the next episode!


	6. Turnabout Soulmate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A wonderful weekend began in Kurain City as many celebrated their free time. Phoenix's own plans changed when Maya asked him if he could help her take care of her cousin, Pearl, who came for a visit. Being good with kids, the artist planned for them to make a doll as a group project. But when their afternoon plans got wrong, Pearl lost her trust in them, leading her to get akumatized. As Beetle Bug and Kuro Neko faced her with thread-like chances, they would have to team up in unison or their fate would be changed forever...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Koi here! This chapter is a bit uninteresting but I hope you enjoy :)

The afternoon sun casts on Kurain City, beaming its light against the reflecting glass of skyscrapers. Shimmering and glowing by the radiating light. The cars and trains below rustle and bustle, hurrying to reach their destinations. The crowd continued their day as the usual weekend began. Well, that is until a red blur swung above the busy roads. Some pedestrians cheered, immediately recognizing that spotted masked figure.

Beetle Bug waved with his free hand while the other gripped the yoyo string. It was nice to see the rising hope within the people, especially since he just came from a recent Akuma Attack. He swung himself out of sight and dropped into an alleyway. With the coast clear, he freely detransformed back into his civilian form as Phoenix Wright. His kwami, Tikki magically flew out of his earrings with a proud smile on her face.

“Phew, another job well done, huh?”, Tikki said cheerfully with a hint of exhaustion in her words.

Letting her sit on his cupped hands, he offered her a chocolate chip cookie from his pocket. “At least Kuro helped me find the akumatized object for my Lucky Charm!”

Finishing her last bite, she flipped into the air, full of energy. “Not to mention Jade Shell helped us again two days ago!”, she exclaimed. “This has been an exciting week for us.”

“Certainly”, he smiled as they made their way to the main sidewalk. “Although, we all deserve a day off today.”

As a civilian, no one even noticed that their hero was among them. Especially since he wore his gray sweater, cuffed blue jeans, and the usual red scarf, it helped him blend in with the crowd. Not suspecting that their heroes were amongst them. With Tikki resting in his scarf, they whispered how they should spend the weekend until…

**BUZZ BUZZ**

After pulling his phone out of his back pocket, his screen showed him that Maya was calling.

“Do you think it’s something serious?”, Tikki asked with concern.

He shook his head. “Nah, she would’ve sent me a bunch of texts before immediately calling me.”

Regardlessly, he answered, "Hello?"

"Hey, Nick! Can I ask you for a favor?", Maya wondered, although her muffled voice and some irrupt background noises disturbed the audio.

Once he turned around the corner to his street, he raised a brow. "Uh sure, but what's with all the ruckus?"

"Oh, I'm trying to hurry to clean up my room. Aunt Morgan wanted me to babysit Pearly today, but I was wondering if you can come over and help me. You're good with kids! And with Mia gone, I need help."

"You mean Pearl, your baby cousin?”, Phoenix pointed out from the memory as he entered his apartment building. “It doesn't seem that hard of a job."

Maya begged, "Come on, please! I'll return the favor! Anything!"

"Anything?"

"Yeah, sure."

Turning the keys to his apartment door, he placed a sly grin, thinking for the perfect request. "Then, if you delete that picture of me and Miles, I’d appreciate-"

"Nope, never going to delete that one!~", the blogger responded instead. 

"Maya…", Wright groaned while Tikki quietly giggled and she flew to the kitchen area as he closed the door behind him.

"Just get here already! See ya!"

**BEEP**

He sighed after the call got cut off, “I’m _never_ going to convince her to delete it.”

“Don’t worry, Phoenix”, the kwami giggled as she sat on the kitchen counter, “Maybe we could compromise with her!”

He sighed in defeat and he made a quick trip upstairs while his kwami stayed on the counter.

Passing his hand across the wooden railing, he made his way to his bedroom. As much as he appreciated Maya’s support, he wished she wouldn’t tease him every time he was near Miles, with the winks and nudging while not being subtle at all. He rolled his eyes. _(Well… It’s better than not supporting me. I would probably do the same to her anyway.)_

Opening the wooden trapdoor to his bedroom, his eyes panned the room, brainstorming what he should bring. _What would Pearls like to do?_ , he questioned to himself. And then, an idea popped into his brain when he spotted the sewing kit on his desk. He quickly went to shove all the necessary materials for his special project into his bag and left his apartment with his kwami. After locking it up again, they headed to the Feys downtown.

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He didn’t expect much of a surprise when Maya finally opened the door, especially since she takes forever to answer. The door swung open to find Phoenix crossing his arms and thumping his foot against the hallway carpet. "My offer still stands, Maya", he said.

She left out a fake laugh with a pleased smile at the end. “Haha, no. I’ll think of something else for you.” She waved away the request and let the defeated artist in, closing the door behind him.

As the same as always, he entered the small corridor, painted in a soothing baby blue. On the right of the hall, there stood a white closet door and on his left, the wall was decorated with framed photos. Some of them were of Maya and Mia in various ages, including a picture of the two sisters hugging tightly in smiling faces with Mia in her graduating robes of Ivy. Some were of them with Phoenix, the three of them in joyful faces with the city sites in the background. Somehow, he did feel the sense of the warmth of family since he had to move away for college. He didn’t have siblings but they accepted him like a brother, something that he was glad to be. 

In the middle of all the photos, there was a single lone frame. It was an old picture of small Mia and baby Maya with their mother, Misty Fey. However, what was interesting was that it was only a small part of a larger photo, with its edges cutting out the people surrounding them.

He has asked before about the picture, wondering what happened to the rest. Maya couldn’t say for being so young at that age. Mia, though, only answered by saying “When the time is right”. He didn’t know what to make of it but he hesitated as he couldn’t just pressure someone either.

“Why did it take you forever to open?”, Wright questioned the sister’s tardiness.

She shook her head and opened her phone. “Oh, I was just chatting with my team.”

His eyes narrowed. “Wait, what team?”

“The MiracleBlog team, dummy,” she rolled her eyes before giving him some jazzy hands. “I’ve been hiring some buddies to be journalists and photographers for the blog to help me.”

She gave him her phone, showing the _About_ page of the blog. “Well, there are just three of us.”

Scrolling down, he peered at the names. Maya and some girl named Regina Berry. But it was the last name that caught him off guard.

“You hired LARRY?!,” he blurted out with a wild expression on his face.

“Yeah”, she replied calmly, despite his bewilderment, and took her phone back. “His schedule is very open so he is going to help a lot.”

As they headed down the small corridor into the living room area, she pointed out, “May have to hire more people though. Maybe I can ask Gumshoe? How about you?”

He nervously chuckled, “I’m already busy as it is, with my job and volunteering and stuff.” _(...and my superhero side job.)_

“Ah man”, she pouted for a moment and she opened her white door, “Anyway, here she is.”

Inside her pastel-colored room, it revealed a little girl sitting with her legs crossed next to a low coffee table. She wore light pink overalls and had a striped long sleeve shirt underneath. Her light brown hair was tied up in pink beads. After they sat down, the small girl scooched herself behind Maya who sat right next to her.

_(She must be a bit shy. It would be better if I wouldn’t scare her.)_ “Hi, Pearl. I’m Maya’s friend, Phoenix Wright. Or you can call me Nick, as Maya does”, he kindly introduced himself.

Her hazel eyes lit up when she heard his nickname. She smiled innocently, “Oh, you’re Mr. Nick! Yeah, Maya told me about you. Nice to meet you!”

“Likewise!”, he smiled back, “Since I'm here, why don’t we work on a fun project together? I have a doll we can work on.”

Reaching into his bag, he pulled out his small blue velvet sewing kit and 3 dolls. One was a Beetle Bug version turned into a doll and the second was a Kuro Neko. Both of the dolls were made of cloth and felt with many vibrant colors. Some pieces like the suit and the hair were adorned with sewed felt and small circles for the eyes and nose. The third plush, however, only had a head and a green jumpsuit, missing their extra felt pieces.

She awed, “Are those the superheroes?”

“Yeah!”, he nodded, “Have you seen them before?”

Pearl shook her head, “Not much. Mama doesn’t let me watch a lot of the news but Cousin Maya showed me some of the videos of them. Aren’t they the superheroes that fight evil villains with magic?”

“Well actually, the villains are victims who are trapped under mind control and given evil powers”, he corrected politely. “But yeah, there are the superheroes that help save the day.”

“Wow, just like in the cartoons that I watch!”, she clapped happily and reached for the Beetle Bug plush to inspect it. “So, Mr. Nick, what’s the project?”

“I’ve made some dolls for the kids in the daycare that I volunteer at. Here are Beetle Bug and Kuro Neko.” He pointed to the doll Pearl held and the Kuro doll that sat on the table. “Right now, I think we should work on the newest hero, Jade Shell!” He showed the unfinished project while he pulled out some material from his sewing kit.

“Woah, okay! I’m ready, Mr. Nick!”, she jumped in excitement while Maya gave a thumbs up.

He handed a pair of scissors and a piece of green felt to Pearl. “Why don’t you cut out this piece for me?” He pointed out the chalked outline, dashed in a hexagonal shape.

“Sure”, she nodded while her cousin cut her yellowish-green piece.

It was only a few moments later when Pearl handed the artist her finished piece, “Here you go!”

“Oh wow, you are very good at handling scissors!”, he examined the nicely cut piece.

She giggled, “Thank you, Mr. Nick! Usually, I’m not very good with arts and crafts.”

“See, Maya, you could learn a thing or two from Pearly.”, he remarked amusingly.

“Hey!”, she cried out while he and Pearl laughed at the interaction.

The three of them spend the rest of the afternoon cutting and sewing pieces together. Mainly, it was Phoenix that handled the needlework but the girls helped out with some of the other pieces. With the final touches, Wright announced proudly, “...And done! We finished Jade Shell!”

“We did it!”, Pearl clapped in glee, “It looks so good!”

As Maya threw out the scraps, Phoenix finished packing his sewing kit, “Thank you for helping me. You guys did an amazing job.”

She nodded happily, “Of course! I’m willing to help Maya’s boyfriend!”

They both froze. Neither of them could slip out a sound, letting the eerie silence fog up the room.

“Um… what did you say, Pearls?”, Phoenix asked even though he was trying to wrap his head around the statement.

However, the small girl didn’t take note of the confusion, “You guys make such a cute couple!”

“Oh...um… Pearls, we are not a couple. We’re friends, that’s all.”, he explained.

Suddenly, her face turned into a mix of sour and sadness, “No… Don’t you love each other?”

Maya patted her on the shoulder. “We do, Pearly, but I think of Nick as my older brother.”

“Yes, we hang out as a family”, he tried to clarify before muttering, “Besides, I already like someone else.”

The blogger nodded frantically, “Me too. I like another person as well.”

Phoenix could only stare at Maya, wanting to know what she meant by that but Pearl didn’t give him a chance to ask. Instead, she grew red in fury. “Mr. Nick, how could you?! You weren’t supposed to break Maya’s heart like that! You both are supposed to like each other, just like in the fairytales.”

Maya pleaded for a chance, “Pearly, please-”

“No, this isn’t how it’s supposed to go! No!”, she yelled and with her small arms, she pushed both of them out of the apartment and locked herself in.

Maya quickly knocked at the door, begging with her voice gradually getting softer, “Pearly… please we can explain…”

But even with the next several times, it was no use. Sighing, Maya advised him, “Come on, Nick. We should give her some space.”

As they made down the few flights of stairs to the first floor in silence, neither of them couldn’t say a word. It wasn’t until when they reached the floor mailboxes, Phoenix asked, “So what’s going on?”

Taking out the key to her mailbox and inserting it, she explained, “Pearl can be sensitive when it comes to relationships. She grew up with unhappy marriages. That’s why when she learned about loving couples, she feels happy, mainly for them, because she knows there is joy in their lives and love could never separate them apart. But I guess, since she never understood the concept of couples, Pearls may have misunderstood us.”

He nodded with comprehension, “I see.”

“It isn’t her fault.” She took out the few letters in the box. “She just needs to be explained, that’s all.”

“Back in there, you said you liked someone else.”, he mentioned while he crossed his arms. “Who may that be?”

Closing the mailbox too quickly, she stuttered with her face turning redder, “Uh, I mean, well-”

He raised a brow. “I confessed mine. Anyway, I hope it’s someone you know at least.”

They started to go up the stairs until she finally said, “It’s… Franny.”

He stopped, “Y-you mean Franziska? As in Franziska von Karma?”

“Yeah.”

He continued to go up with her. “...Listen, I have nothing against it, I support you fully. But why her?”

She swallowed. “Franny and I have been talking to each other for a while now. I thought I would’ve gotten closer to her as friends but...augh, I fell for her, Nick! I fell in love with her!”

_(Oh, I know how_ that _feels...)_ “Did you tell Mia about it?”

At the last flight of stairs, she shrugged, “Well, I mean, I know Mia would support me but I haven’t confirmed my feelings yet! It’s been a few days since I took note of them. I need time, Nick!”

“Alright alright”, he reassured, “but if you don’t tell Mia sooner or later, then I will.”

She smiled, “Thanks, Nick.”

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Alone in the bedroom, Pearl was slumped on the carpet next to the coffee table that everyone was at. But now, she was alone. In sorrows, she mumbled, “They seemed like a good couple. They like each other just like in the fairytales. They should. Like that story of soulmates.”

Without thinking, she took a piece of leftover red string and tied each end of the string to two dolls. One end wrapped around Beetle Bug’s plushy hand and the other around Kuro Neko’s hand. She didn’t care about which plushies they were. She just needs to illustrate the concept, just like the pictures in her book.

“‘The red string of fate is what brings them together’”, she recited from her bedtime stories as she stared at the red string, “‘and love each other to the very end of time.’ Why couldn’t it be like this?”

Everything in her life seemed to be filled with misfortunes. She remembered a few years ago when she peeked through the door of her parent’s bedroom door. They were arguing, their shouts echoing through the walls. She remembered when her dad took his suitcase and from the front porch, he was gone. From there, everything seemed to be in the gloom. Her mother hovered over herewith everything young Pearl did. What she played. What she watched on TV. What she drew with her crayons. She wanted to cry, close herself from her mother. But her mother showed love. Comfort. Pride. Safety. It’s something she couldn’t risk losing. 

But then her cousins Mia and Maya came over to visit. Their visits were rare and short as Mia looked uncomfortable by just standing by the front door. She always glares along with her grudges at Pearl’s mother Morgan but tries to hide it by playing with everyone else. They gave her stories of their journey in the city. With the giant building that reached to the clouds and the bright lights that illuminate the night sky, it all seemed like a dream for the suburban girl. She saw that deep down, the sisters were happy. Truly happy with no strings attached, as she wondered what it would be like to live with them. To be free.

Recently, Maya told her that Mia got engaged, although she didn’t say who she was engaged to. Still, he wondered if that was the source of her cousin’s happiness. Is being with someone you truly love give you delight in life?

But now seeing that Mr. Nick broke Maya’s heart, she pondered if Maya would never find happiness. Would her wonderful cousin find joy in her life? She just wanted her to be happy, something she couldn’t find herself. Even with the facades of her innocent smile.

Her frown grew grim. _(It’s because of Mr. Nick…)_

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

On one side of the city, a dark lair’s window opened wide to present the late afternoon light while butterflies accepted the time, fluttering with anticipation.

Dark Moth stood upright with his long cane and declared in a booming voice, “A loving girl carrying the broken heart of her family. A perfect victim for my Akuma.”

Letting a white butterfly land on his hand, he grasped it with his other hand, letting the miraculous power to its job, swirling the butterfly with dark energy. Letting go of the dark moth, he instructed it, “Fly away my little Akuma and guide her into the darkness.”

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

Pearl whimpered with a few tears rolling down her cheeks. She suddenly had the urge to pick up the scissors and cut the dolls tied string. But once she brought the edge to the threat, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Instead, she closed them and sobbed, hugging herself tightly. As soon as she did though, she spotted a dark butterfly and emerged itself to the scissors in hand.

“Soul Threader”, a deep voice presented itself in her head, “I’m Dark Moth. I can give you the power to change the string of people's souls at your will. In exchange, I ask that you bring Beetle Bug’s and Kuro Neko’s miraculous.”

She wiped her tears and gripped the pair of scissors along in her other hand. She smiled unnaturally, “I’ll change the fate that should be deserved.” Dark energy swirled around her, giving her the hope that she would be able to change.

The building rumped violently while the pair grasped the railing tightly. Quickly, they made their way down the stairs and out of the building. Once they reached outside, Maya asked, “Was that an earthquake?”

It wasn't, however, as the rest of the city remained still while this building was the only one that shook slightly.

Unexpectedly, the building crumbled and blasted pieces of concrete to the street below. Luckily they escaped their way out of the falling rumble but then it was a high pitch giggle that caught their attention.

In the leftover area of the blast, there was a small brown-haired girl with a needle and thread. The thread was in a giant roll hooked up into a blaster that was attached to her arm. Colored in a combination of pink and red folds, she peered straight at them.

Maya gasped, recognizing her immediately, “Pearly?”

But as soon as the blasts came raining down, the blogger was about to run back into the building. Phoenix quickly grabbed her by the arm, “No, we can’t save her. She’s been akumatized; there’s nothing we can do. Have to go!”

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

“ **Checkmate.** ”

Plagg thumped his small fist to his round head, frustrated by not seeing that move coming. He slumps onto the table in defeat while Miles, who sat across from him on the couch, grew a satisfied grin on his face.

On the other side of the city, Edgeworth’s room was quiet just like every other room in the household as everyone stayed in their rooms, not minding what the others did at the moment. The large window facing the busy street below let in dancing rays of the sun, shining down on the checkered chess set. On it, there stood a red bishop, separate from the others, meanwhile, on the other side, there stood a blue king and a red rook in the same square. A red victory for Miles.

“I should’ve seen that coming”, Plagg groaned.

Miles shook his head. “May I say that I’m impressed. Never knew you were a good player.”

“I had past owners who love to play chess so I know all the moves”, the kwami explained proudly.

Edgeworth pulled a mocking grin. “All of them?”

Plagg glared at him grimly, “Don’t rub it in.”

The boy shrugged. “Still, you were quite challenging yourself.” He looked over the small notepad that he had on the side to record their winning games. “Looks like we ended in a tie.”

“I don’t think I’m up for another 20 rounds, kid”, the kwami yawned while he pressed the TV remote by using the force of his tiny body and started munching on some Camembert.

He rolled his eyes. _(It felt great to have someone to play with once in a while.)_

“We interrupted this new broadcast to bring in some breaking news.”

His eyes shot up to the screen to find a live feed in recording video, reading the header. 

**Akuma Attack**

“We are live in what seems to be an Akuma attack. The villain appears to be a small girl and… they look like they are chasing some people.”

He knew that his eyesight was turning worse but by the blurred close up at the scurrying crowd, he could tell who they were. “Phoenix? Maya?”

He stood up quickly. “Come on, Plagg. We have to go help!”

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**“Plagg, Claws Out!”**

With the swiftness of electrifying magic passing through him while Plagg was sucked into his ring, he was flashed back into his feline identity.

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⋅ ⋅ ⋅

Running side by side, Phoenix and Maya quickly ran down the street and turned to every corner while akumatized Pearl crackled right behind them. Wright took them through shortcuts and passageways in hopes to lose her.

But once they turned around another corner, they hit a dead end. Trapped. They went in reverse but Pearl got to them before they could escape. She crackled, “Finally, I can bring you two together at last. You both can finally be happy.”

Maya pleaded, “Pearly, please-”

“Pearl is no more”, she interrupted, “I’m only Soul Threader and it’s time to change your fate.” With her arm blaster, she sent a blast to Maya. After a bright flash, Maya’s hand revealed a glowing red string around her finger, flowing out of the alleyway.

Without another thought, Soul Threader used a pair of red scissors to cut the red string. Maya shouted into pain and a cloud of smoke puffed up around her. Once the puff cleared, it showed a small plush version of Maya, slumped on the ground with no red string. Victoriously, Soul Threader picked up the helpless doll and averted her gaze to the startled Phoenix, “Now, it’s your turn.”

She quickly pointed the blaster at him and fired. But he was instead scooped up at mid-air and carried away from the scene. Threader shouted in vengeance, “NO! Come back here!”

Astonished by what happened, Phoenix looked up to the person holding him and, as he should’ve expected, it was none other than Kuro Neko himself who rescued him. As they ran from rooftop to rooftop in silence, they fled the scene. With a short question of directions, Phoenix pointed him to his apartment, since Pearl didn’t know where he lived.

“Sorry I barged in like that.”, the hero apologized, “But I felt like you were important to this.”

He nodded, “Makes sense. As an artist, every detail counts.”

He cracked a small smile, “Well then, Picasso, what was the deal with the red string and dolls?”

“I was making plushies with my friend Maya and her cousin Pearls”, Wright responded shyly but honestly. “But it looked like I upsetted her because she wanted me and Maya to get together.”

Kuro continued running and jumped over a space gap. “No wonder, she seemed that she could’ve gone into a full rage at you with that laser.”

He shook his head. “I didn’t mean for her to get hurt, though. It’s my fault.”

Finally reaching his balcony, Phoenix was placed down to the ground while Kuro checked his baton for any messages from his partner. “Don’t worry, I promise to bring her and your girlfriend back.”

“Wait, girlfriend?”

Kuro looked up to him in confusion. “Maya’s your special someone, right?”

“Oh stars, no!”, Phoenix quickly denied, “She’s not my girlfriend.”

Still, Kuro looked back at him with the same expression. “I supposed because you guys seemed close.”

“Yeah, but I think of her as my little sister”, he clarified before mumbling, ”Besides, I like someone else.”

Kuro leaned a bit closer with a playful and curious grin on his face, “Would you care to share?”

With a single finger, Wright pushed his cheek away from him for being too close. “Pfft, as if I would tell you.” He patted him on the back, subtly urging him to leave. “Curiosity killed the cat as they say. Now go save Kurain City, Kuro Neko.”

Kuro laughed for a moment while he got on the railing, “Then, I guess this is where we part ways, Picasso.”

“Thanks”, Wright thanked and crossed his arms, “and don’t call me Picasso.”

He turned back for the last time, “Well, you’re Phoenix, I believe? I’m sure we’ll meet again, firebird.” With a wave and the swirl of his silver baton, he left as quickly as he came.

Phoenix raised a brow and a smile while Tikki flew out of his scarf. He shook his head. “As if! I’m not going to confess my partner about Miles. It would be fucking ridiculous. Besides, what is he going to do?”

“We better join him”, Tikki advised. “And fast or else, he’ll become a plushie.”

“You’re right”, he replied with a determined fist. “We have to save Maya and Pearl.”

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**“Tikki, Spots On!”**

With the swift of magic passing through him, his red suit was flashed with polka-dots swirling around him, transforming him into his hero persona.

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Grabbing his yoyo, he quickly swung himself after his partner and spotted him being in the middle of a storm of blasts. Landing on a lamppost, he threw his yoyo around Kuro’s leg and pulled him up to safety on a rooftop.

Swinging under an antenna post, Kuro greeted Beetle, “Good to see you, Buggaboy.”

“I see you have been _hanging_ around for a bit”, Beetle smirked while he looked eye to eye. 

After he let the cat hero down, Kuro stood up with a pleased expression on his face, “A pun, my bug? That’s news to me.”

The spotted hero huffed, “Yeah, news that you’re starting to grow on me.” They both made their way to the edge of the building, observing that Threader gave her rage by overthrowing cars and victimized dolls. “So what do we get?”

“We got a small girl here”, Kuro informed, “apparently something to do with red string and soulmates.”

Beetle Bug looked back at him with a smug, “Woah, looks like the cat did some observations.”

The cat pointed out, twirling his baton within his fingers, “I believe cats have excellent eyesight.”

Beetle nudged him by the shoulder and pointed out at the scene. “Well, bugs have a lot of points. For example, that.” A policeman tried to scurry away but got shot by a blast. ”She has three moves: the first is that she strikes anyone with a blast, showing the red string.” 

“The second is she cuts the string in half.” Threader pulled out her scissors to cut the red thread as is being said. 

Then, a puff of smoke appeared and turned the officer into a doll. “The third, the cut turns the people into dolls and she sews her red string into different pairs.”

With his right index finger to his temple, Kuro simplified, “Basically, don’t get hit by any of her moves, correct?”

Beetle nodded. “Right. We just need to figure out what the akumatized object is. There are two possibilities: the scissors or the thread? They both seem to give her power.”

Kuro extended the baton with preparation, “Whenever you are ready, Buggaboy!”

They both jumped down to the ground to face Soul Threader, ready with their gadgets as shields. She crackled at their entrance, “So the silly cat and little bug have come to play?” She pointed the blaster at them with a heavy charge of power. “Too bad you’ll turn into dolls!”

Sending the blasts to their way, the pair quickly sprang into action, dodging every shot. A few got absorbed into their gadgets, which wouldn’t last long for them to use. Beetle gulped on one side of the street, panting in exhaustion. _(Which one could it be?)_

Threader challenged Kuro into a bit of sword fight, a baton versus a huge needle. The metal clank against each other until he unarmed her and tried to crunch the needle to see if it was the akumatized object. No Akuma appeared though.

She laughed at his defeat and pointed her laser at him, “At last, the miraculous would be for Dark Moth.”

“No”, Beetle cried out and shoved his partner out of the incoming blast. A fast flash came, blinding him and his partner. But once it cleared, his blue eyes quickly darted to the dim glow of his hand. A large shimmering gold chain wrapped around his wrist, which was cuffed slightly loose. His gaze followed down the link chain, seeing where it went. Only to end up around his partner’s wrist...

Kuro himself took note of this as well, jumping back to the realization.

Soul Threader didn’t mind their expressions as she tried to strike the chain with her scissors but they didn’t cut through the metal. Not even a scratch was left on it. Now, she was the confused one. But Kuro didn’t let her take another strike. Instead, he scooped up Beetle and rushed in an alleyway, lucky that she didn’t notice immediately. Threader passed through them but gave up to find them elsewhere. They both let out a relieved sigh of not getting caught.

“What the fuck is happening?!”, Beetle blurt out, shaking the glowing chain. “And what the fuck is this? Why haven’t we turned to dolls already?”

Kuro felt speechless. For the second time, at least. Ever since that Phoenix corrected him that he wasn’t in love with Maya, he somehow felt… Well, he didn’t know how he felt exactly, but now, seeing that his string of fate is a gold chain and attached to his crush, he isn’t sure what to say.

Instead, he cleared his throat as well as his thoughts. “I broke her needle meaning she can’t take our soulmate strings and the scissors didn’t work on this chain thing, which by the way, it seems to extend. That could be our advantage and leaves the only possibility that the Akuma could be in the scissors.”

Beetle ran his fingers through his hair. “So we’ll save your Cataclysm for that. But we need to get close enough to grab it from her.”

“Perhaps we can use some luck?”, he hinted.

“Of course!”, the red bug exclaimed, reaching for his yoyo.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

**“Lucky Charm!”**

With the flick of his wrist, his yoyo was launched into the air as magic ladybugs swirled above it, constructing the object needed for the task.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

A small piece of spotted rope, landed on his hand while both of them stared blankly at it.

Beetle pulled a mix of disgust and disbelief on his face, “We are already tied up as it is. What’s the point of having a second piece of rope?”

“Think carefully.” His partner fidgeted his baton, pondering as well. “Sometimes, the Lucky Charms help us unexpectedly.”

The spotted hero exhaled. _(It isn’t how it could help. It’s why it would appear in the first place. The Lucky Charm never deceived us.)_ He stood upright and looked for clues,

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

The rope

Kuro’s ring

His yoyo

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

“You were right”, Beetle’s eyes lit up with a plan. “It’s unexpectedly easy.”

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

An empty car rolled over, crashing it into dents and clusters of metal onto the road. Soul Threader screeched, “Those pesky heroes have to show up one way or the other!”

“Actually, you’re right on that part.”

She turned around to the sudden voice behind her. There they were, Beetle Bug and Kuro Neko. Their hands were still linked together by the chain as it would be impossible to get rid of. However, she looked down at their feet. One ankle from Beetle and the Kuro’s ankle that was next to his partner was wrapped together with a spotted rope.

She let out a crackle. “You expect to fight against me with you two tangled together?” 

But determination rose in their eyes. “We’ll fight. Together as one.”

As soon as they finished, they gave out a punch, sending the akumatized victim onto a nearby brick wall. Recovering from the impact, Threader gave out a glare of fury. She gave them a rain of lasers but it was completely useless, having already been struck once. They threw their punches and kicks, swinging each other in sync and unity. No matter how much she tried to mess up their unison, they dodge while protecting each other’s backs. In some way, it looked like a dance routine that they could perform perfectly, even though they never practiced before. Because they didn’t need to.

Kuro extended his baton behind Threader in which she didn’t expect as she tripped over and dropped the scissors, flying into the air.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

**“Cataclysm”**

Black energy whirled around his single fist, bubbling for destruction.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

Kuro Neko caught the scissors with his destructive hand, crumbling immediately within his touch. Within the crumble, an Akuma was let out. Beetle quickly unraveled the rope from each other’s ankle to be able to be free for the last task.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

Beetle opened his yoyo into purification mode with the swipe of his finger and swung it in circles, 

**“No more evil-doing for you, little Akuma... Time to De-evilize!”**

With the swipe of his yoyo, he brought the captured Akuma back in the palm of his hand,

“ **Gotcha!** ” 

Pressing the middle spot, the yoyo opened to release the now purified butterfly,

“ **Bye-bye, little butterfly.** ”

Finally, he launched his lucky charm into the air to repair the damage that has been done,

“ **Miraculous Beetle Bug!** ”

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

Magic ladybugs swirled around the city, recovering what has been damaged. All the helpless dolls transformed back to their civilian forms, free from their plush like state. Magic swirled around the victim, leaving Pearl at her normal self. Finally, the recovering ended around the heroes, taking their gold chain out of sight.

They both rubbed their wrists where their link was around. Kuro grinned, “That’s too bad, I was getting used to it.”

Beetle chuckled in agreement while they gave a fist bump in parallel formation to each other.

**“Pound it!”** , they said in unison.

However, Beetle quickly ran up to Pearl afterward, scanning for injuries, with Kuro strolling behind.

Pearl, who was dazed, blinked open to see the spotted hero standing over her, “What’s going on?”

Beetle Bug kneeled to face her. “It’s okay, Pearls. Everything is alright.”

She didn’t take note of his acknowledgment of her name but instead, her eyes lit up like stars to see the real-life hero in front of him. “Woah, are you Bee-til Bug?”

“Beetle Bug, yes!”, he smiled for a moment. “But can you tell me what happened?”

Her starry eyes turned dark by the question, turning away in shame. “I-I was sad because I wanted my cousin and Mr. Nick to be together. I thought that they loved each other.” She looked up to him. “That’s why they were happy, right?”

Beetle gave up a soft smile and picked her up into his arms.“Well, when people have someone by their side, they love each other. But it doesn’t always mean like a loving couple. People can love each other as friends, siblings, and even family. Even if they’re not related.” 

He patted her head warmly. “Besides that point, people don’t find their loved ones right away. There is a time and a place for everything. Some people find others early in their lives. Sometimes later. But it’s never too late to find the one. And it’s never too late to love the right ones either. There will always be someone out there who will care for you, right Kuro?”

Beetle looked at his partner right next to him for an answer but the cat had a flabbergasted and dazed face. “Kuro?”

For Kuro Neko himself, he was lost in the space of his thoughts. _(I never knew there were people there for me. I got so used to being alone and yet I somehow unexpectedly found people who love me. My parents. My big sister. My friends. Beetle...)_

“Kuro? Are you okay?”

He blinked, noticing now that his partner called out for him several times. He nodded a few times for comprehension. “Yeah, I’m fine. And Pearls, Beetle is correct. There are people out there; all we need is time.”

“Thank you for explaining it to me, Mr. Beetle”, she exclaimed before apologizing, “I’m sorry for causing trouble.” 

“It’s okay, Pearls”, the pair said simultaneously, in which they both clasped their free hands to their hand afterward. _That was so weird_ , they both thought.

She giggled, “You guys make a good couple.”

They both froze at her statement. Beetle gulped, thinking carefully what to say. “Oh uh, sorry Pearls, but we aren’t a couple.”

She kept her joyous smile. “But now that you explain it to me, I can see you both like each other! Deep down, that is.”

The spotted hero turned red and flustered, “N-no. We are just partners-”

“You guys are so cute together!”, she interrupted, still joyful with a hint of teasing. 

At this point, Beetle felt faint. “Gah! Kuro, say something! Kuro!”

Kuro hid his burning face with his bangs and managed to say, “Uh, no comment...”

“KURO!”

“Oh my stars, Pearly!”, Maya called out in relief. She ran up to her after recovering from becoming a doll.

“Maya!” Pearl greeted her cousin and Beetle let her down so she could run-up to her and give her a tight embrace. 

It only took a long moment for her to realize that the superhero pair stood there patiently. “Oh. Thank you so much, Beetle and Kuro! I was so worried about Pearly!”

Kuro swirled his baton “No problem.”

“While you are here, I was wondering if you are available for an interview for the MiracleBlog. Interested?”

The pair’s miraculous beep, warning them of their time limit. Beetle apologized, “Maybe another time, sorry.”

She shrugged and waved with her phone in her hand. “I’ll consider that as a yes!”

They gave them farewell to the girls and looked back at each other. They both jumped onto a nearby building, away from public eyes and ears. Silence stirred in between them.

“Kuro, what’s wrong? You seemed...off”, Beetle tried to reassure, “If something is bothering you, you can tell me if you want.”

Kuro Neko faced him with a soft smile. ”I know I can always talk to you.” He turned away for a minute, his shoulders turning stiff. “When you explained Pearls about what you said, I couldn’t stop thinking of how it was true. It took time for me to find the right people but they came, and it’s something I don’t want to lose.” He faced him again with a deep hum. “So thank you, Beetle.”

“You’re welcome.” The red bug grinned but paused at his companion’s last statement. “Wait, for exactly what did you mean?”

Kuro didn’t change his smile. “For being in my life. As my partner. My friend. You mean so much more to me than you would ever realize and I’d wouldn’t change a thing if I was given a chance to.” As if it was farewell, he gave a fast wave, and soon enough, he was gone in the sea of skyscrapers.

Beetle Bug could only stand there, his gaze locked after the cat. He smiled. “Another mystery for another day.” 

A couple of swings and flips, he finally landed in a nearby alleyway that was next to the Feys’ apartment building. When the coast was clear, he transformed and headed back to the apartment.

Tikki munch, satisfied with her cookie while Phoenix pondered on what his partner meant, not conscious of getting in the building and coming up the stairs. _(What in the fucking million-star galaxy did he mean by that?! Of course, he is my partner and friend. What did he mean that I meant so much more to him? Maybe the stakes of being a superhero affect more than as a civilian?)_

But as soon as he reached the front door, he was confronted by an unexpected embrace. Well, consider it as two hugs now that Pearly joins Maya for the tackle.

Maya exhaled, “Oh thank goodness, you’re okay.” But then hit him on the shoulder. “Honestly Nick, I was going to start your funeral expenses.”

Pearl let go as well to pout and shook her finger. “That was not very responsible of you, Mr. Nick. You shouldn't scare Maya like that.”

The artist massaged his neck. “Sorry, apparently Kuro Neko saved me and told me to stay at home until it was over.” He then kneeled to face Pearl. “Also, I’m sorry for hurting you Pearl. I didn’t mean to.”

She gave a smile. “No, Mr. Nick. I’m the one who’s sorry. I shouldn’t force you like that. Maybe one day, you like Cousin Maya. But for now, promise me you give her happiness as a friend.” She held out her small pinky finger. “Pinky promise?”

He smiled back and returned the gesture, “Pinky promise.”

“What a day has been!”, the blogger shook her head. “I’ll make it up to you.”

Phoenix waved his hand while he went over to the coffee table and picked up his things into his bag. “No, it’s okay, Maya.”

But she gave a sly grin, “Actually, I was planning this ahead of time. Remember that Akuma attack on your birthday?”

He nodded. _(Of course, it_ **_was_ ** _my birthday after all.)_

“While I was searching for you in the library basement, I discovered the archive museum. It has some pretty good artifacts and paintings”, she explained. “I thought it would be nice if we all went together to check it out.”

Her grin grew wider. “Think of it as a double date. You know, with your Edgy.~”

He could only fluster, wide eyes. “Edgy?” _(Since when did she nickname Edgeworth that?)_

“Double date?”, Pearl exclaimed with a thrill, “Well then, Mr.Nick, you have to make sure you look nice for your date.”

All Wright could do was fluster up while they teased him some more. Advising him what to wear and what to say, although Pearl still didn’t give up hope he would fall in love with Maya. As the night nearer, the artist had to excuse himself to be able to get to his night shift on time for work. As he walked down the sidewalk to the train station, he looked up with many buzzing thoughts. Despite the dimly yellow lamp posts and bright windows of the buildings to his right, the starry night shined brightly in contrast. A pleasing chilling wind roamed freely along with the sounds of beeps of the nearby cars and crackles of the metro tracks overhead, an urban melody.

As much as he tried, he couldn’t convince Maya to decline the offer. Though, his head was dizzy with questions unanswered and mysteries unsolved. But he knew that the truth would come out. In spite of everything, he was right. The truth would come out in a rather unexpected way, for it will reveal what goes on behind the scenes of the miraculous power… 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Koi again! I like to say a few words: first off, thank you for all the support and check out my ig account, @koi_doodles, for the AU guide to learn more!  
> And second, I would like to remind everyone that due to classes, having 3-4ish AP classes, and driving lessons, I won't be able to do these episodes as fast as I usually do. But I'll try the best I can to do these in my free time.


	7. The Stolen Turnabout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A great time in a study period for the gang at Ivy University to spend in the library, exploring the newest exhibit in its museum. However, when a pair of Delites and a young Miss Faraday become wrapped in a bunch of missing books, only the group can help resolve it. But when it comes to a Delite to become akumatized, it is up to Beetle Bug and Kuro Neko to save the victim. As they fight through a storm of burning fire, they would have to fight together with the pain they gained, only for Beetle Bug to meet the leader and protector of the Order for the first time, face to face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for being so patient with me! Having 3 AP classes, driving lessons, and college apps are giving me hell but I hope you enjoy this episode (longest episode yet with 33 pages)

The late afternoon sun shined down through the colorful stained glass window of Ivy’s library, letting its rainbow colors glimmer on the antique golden clock that rose above the quiet indoor waterfall. It ticked,

_1:14 PM_

As the water flowed down the black stoned wall, the flow reached to the bottom where the fountain’s stoned bottom was covered with hundreds of shining coins, each one holding their thrower’s little wishes. Such scenery blended coziness and elegance with a mist of magic...

**BANG**

“C'mon guys! The new exhibit is downstairs!”

That is until the girl with a large purple varsity sweater and flowy dark hair burst through the library front doors with her group of friends behind her. Maya couldn’t help but have an extremely enthusiastic grin with her determined arm passing by the shaken door. This would not only be her hyper experience of her freshman year in Ivy but also initiate her “double date” that she had previously mentioned to Phoenix a few days ago.

As the blogger guided them downstairs, the gang chatted about the day. Edgeworth commented, “I think it’s rather fascinating that we all could come here in such a perfect moment. Even though I rather use my time efficiently, we all could use a break.”

Franziska strictly warned her brother, just like the older sister she is, “You better watch out what you foolishly want, Miles Edgeworth, for I rather spend my time on something _useful_ , unlike you.” 

The city had offered so many places to experience, especially since the summer season was coming to its end. With the nice warm sun surpassing the cool breeze, it gave Phoenix a chance for him to wear a blue flannel shirt and khaki shorts. Possibly using the chance to wear his birthday bracelets, letting his green kwamataga dangle from the braided yarn. Maya seemed to have a similar idea with a white tank top and dark pink shorts, except she wore her usual jacket. Gumshoe dressed unlike them with his blue jeans, brown shirt, and the dark green varsity jacket that he had for being in Ivy’s football team. However, Franziska and Miles remained in their usual style with their business casual, from their ironed shirts and sleek shoes.

Edgeworth let his head shake, knowing every well that with the limit of time in their study break, they wouldn’t be able to explore much, as much as he wanted to.

He leaned a bit closer to Phoenix, who walked right next to him and whispered, “By the way, thanks for suggesting this, Wright. I don’t believe I would’ve pulled myself out of those books if you didn’t insist on doing so.”

The artist’s cheeks painted themselves pink and flustered, “Oh well, I just thought that you and Franziska seemed burned out from studying. Besides, Maya was the one that suggested that we should come here.”

Once they reached the last step, they faced a museum entrance checkpoint and they pulled out their student IDs, as the library let the students come in with liberty as long as they present their identification. Gumshoe was the last one to pull out his card, but Maya caught a peak and exclaimed at his printed name, “Wait, since when was your name Richard?”

He shrugged, as if he was used to the question, and passed his ID to the museum employee. “My real name is Richard but everyone has known me as Dick Gumshoe. Besides, ‘Richard’ seems a bit too formal for me.”

Maya nodded as she passed the checkpoint, “You’ll always be our Gumshoe either way.”

Not far from the entrance, a huge area was filled with gallery partitions with some paintings hung up while others were leaned against it, still left to be pinned. Passing by the third row of aligned partitions, Maya stopped in front of a laid painting. “Hey Nick, isn’t that your painting from one of your past projects?”

The group turned to see what she meant. It was a finished painting, a close up of a rose from a bush, blooming in the starry midnight sky with a single ladybug resting on one of its delicate red petals. Phoenix pointed out, recalling the memory, “Oh yeah, my professor said he entered my entry for the Student Exhibition for the end of fall. I guess they’re just beginning to set it up.”

“Wow, pal, that looks pretty good”, Gumshoe noted with a thumbs up.

The artist scratched the back of his neck in bashfulness. “Oh, thanks! Mine isn’t as good as the others but-”

“I think you have amazing talent”, Edgeworth complimented him, ending it with a slight smile.

Phoenix could only stare, taking in his genuine reaction. But most of all, his smiles. It was rare for him to smile at anyone else. It was subtle, but it was there. Unlike his stiff expression and his concentrated stares, he wouldn’t smile to anyone, as far as the artist could tell. In this case, only to Phoenix and Phoenix alone.

The artist blushed harder and couldn’t keep his blue eyes away. Even with Maya trying to pop his daydream-like state, repeating, “Hello? Earth to Nick?” 

With an unlikely choice, she pinched the back of his forearm. He cried out, “Ow, okay okay! It’s not like you wouldn’t ask her to the Fall Gala-”

“SH! Shut up”, she cut him off before he could finish the last part.

Both Franziska and Miles spun around to ask, “What?”

“NOTHING!”, they responded quickly.

Franziska could only raise a brow. “Hmph, let’s get going. The faster we finish this, the better.”

As they continued to walk, Gumshoe lightly remarked at her hurriedness, “Wouldn’t Ivy want you to interact more with the school? After all, the museum holds the history behind the university.”

She only flipped her long hair. “Silence, you fool”, she hissed.

Passing through a large hallway, the artist cleared his throat and asked,

“So, what is this all about, Maya?”

“They just placed a new exhibit called- Oh, it’s right here!” She ran up to a stoned entrance and pointed at the plaque above.

”The Midnight Tale?”, Edgeworth read.

She nodded. “It’s about that fairytale about the baker and the prince.”

The group curiously entered into a large circular room, taking in the unexpected sense of magicalness. The only light coming in the room was from the stained glass window strip that was a couple of meters off the floor, high enough to reach for sunlight being in the basement level of the library. 

The stained glass was decorated into 12 large symbols that seem to be a wooden box, a purple pouch, a book, a badge of sorts, an envelope, a tennis racket, a roll of string, a red rose, a pair of silver gloves, a bow and arrow, a shoe, and lastly, a gold crown. 

On the other side from where they were facing, there was a large portrait of what seems to be the royal family, placed below the panorama of the glass window. 

The group scattered around, examining the many artifacts that were put on display. While Franziska and Gumshoe briefly examined a wooden box and a glass-heeled shoe, Maya guided the other two boys to the painting. “Look here’s the portrait!”

The royal family consisted of an array of many diverse people. Each one with different colored hair and skin color. Some with freckles while some do not. One, in particular, had heterochromia eyes of brown and blue. They all don’t appear to be related at all, but in some unusual way, they seemed like family. The whole joined together to view the strange but joyful and smiling members. Gumshoe noted, “Oh yeah, this was the portrait that was placed in front of the library.”

Phoenix took a step closer, leaning in to closely inspect the space between the painting and the frame. His fingers hovered over the painting for a sec to see that the border of the portraits was a bit burned, a rigid edge of charcoal black. The artist said, “They must’ve moved it here for the exhibit.” 

”Hmm, I wonder who is the baker and who is the prince?”, the blogger questioned. It is something valid to ask. None of the family members were shown without crowns or badges, only the varied colors of their dresses and shoes help distinguish them from one another.

Miles cleared his throat. “ hate to bother but what was this fairytale that was based on this?”

Maya lifted her left index finger. “Oh right! You guys weren’t here when it was discovered. I think- Oh here’s a plaque with the story.” She pointed at the golden plaque below the painting. It read:

_“Once upon a time, there lived a tale of a baker. Long ago, the baker used to be a servant who lost their parents and was raised poorly by their stepmother and sisters. While the sisters were given exquisite dresses and fine slippers, the servant was forced to wear a worn smock and dusty shoes._

_The young servant was given piling chores and tasks, and once the night fell when the servant became weary, they laid in a bed of cinders and ashes under the cosmic sky._

_The servant ran away to become a baker, free from their heavy chains of the past, and stayed in the dark era of the kingdom._

_A faithful day came when the baker met the prince, who had to accept his father's crown, for them to fall in love for the first time. A baffling encounter to be truly remembered as their love began to grow._

_The kingdom grew in questions and suspicions, wondering who these lovers were. But the pair grew smart and met in secret, flying away into the clouds filled with passion and warmth._

_Fate tried to split them apart, playing its disgraceful games. Nevertheless, they stayed as one, wishing on a star in the evening sky. However, their chance to dream withered between the lovers as the world around them began to burn in flames._

_On the helpless starry night, the baker wasn't allowed to the festival as they were trapped behind bars of painful memories. Through an act of kindness, a sorcerer came to their aid, letting them rise from the ashes._

_Within the magic of helping hands, the baker’s clothes were transformed into delicate folds of silver fabric and unique patterns of blue jewels. After giving wings to fly and glass slippers to step, the sorcerer declared their readiness for the dance._

_The midnight ball, however, turned into a war of heartbreak and distrust, and when the baker tried to run away at the struck of the 12th hour, they left a single glass slipper on the staircase._

_The prince took the lone slipper close to his heart and sought far and wide until the kingdom touched the horizon to find the owner of the slipper. To find the shining stars in their eyes. To find their hair that feathered like that of a free bird._

_Once they were found into unity, together they shined the light of hope through the dark era. Fulfilling their promise to become each other’s defender, star, and beginning of everything…”_

“It really was a great fairytale and apparently, this happened in real life!”, Maya pointed out.

A voice rose behind them, “Ah, I see you all have taken interest in the exhibit.”

The group turned around to see a woman leaning against the entranceway with long brown hair with bright red biker goggles that wrapped around her head like a headband, contradicting her green Ivy employee shirt and beige pants. Maya nodded, “Oh yes, it is so wonderful to see all this in person.”

The woman placed her hands on her hips with pride. “I'm glad. As curators of this exhibit, my husband and I worked so hard to put this all up. Oh, where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself: I'm Desirée Delite and my husband, Ron Delite.” She turned her head towards the hallway and called out, “Hey Ronny, can you come to say hi?"

A man with swirled red hair that was shaped similarly to cinnamon rolls and wore large gold-rimmed glasses peeked through as well with a clipboard in hand. Like Desirée, he wore the same uniform as his wife. He stuttered, "N-nice to meet you all."

"I do have to say, the exhibit looks better than I expected", Franziska politely complimented.

His brown eyes lit up like stars behind his round glasses. "Why, thank you! It could have been a bit better, but, erm, I guess it is what we have to work with." He mumbled his last words, a typical habit of his.

His wife gently patted him on the back with a prideful grin. “Oh, Ronny, don't put yourself down. You always had good ideas."

"Thanks, Dessie." He gave her a grateful and loving smile before he jumped. "Oh, that reminds me, I have to go and sort the delivery upstairs. Those artifacts aren't going to sort themselves by chronological order! I'll let you if anything happens."

He gave her a small but tender kiss on her cheek as she replied, "Okay, Ronny. I'll see you later."

He waved goodbye to the gang and hurried down the corridor. Phoenix pointed out, "You guys seem such a great team."

Maya agreed, "Yeah, and Ron seems to be passionate about his work."

She folded her arms. "Ronny wasn't always a historic nerd. He was also such a brave knight in shining armor."

Gumshoe raised a brow, acknowledging that Ron didn’t appear much like a fighter. "Really? How so?"

She explained, "Back then, Ronny was a poor man and became a famous thief because of his poverty. As a nerd, he would steal the most valuable objects, not in dollar signs but by historical value. Of course, I was overwhelmed by him as he used to rob local museums. But one night, while I was guarding a museum that I used to work at, two robbers broke in and took me as a hostage. I thought I was done for but then, Ronny, who so happened to be near the area, came to save me. Although his figure was slim and weak compared to the culprits, he was so courageous to fight them off himself. Out of all the people that could've come and saved me, he was the one who rescued me. It felt like love at first sight. As he helped comfort me from all that, I got to know more about him and somehow he changed me, learning not all people that make bad actions are evil criminals. But I think I changed him as well. He stopped committing thefts, served his sentence, and even returned everything that he stole. We both helped each other change because we loved each other. Love does many wonders.”

Maya blinked and gave a smile, “Wow, that is such a wonderful love story.”

Wright himself almost looked like he was starting to tear up. “Stars, if that happened to me, I think I would’ve fallen in love as well.”

Edgeworth, who stood close, nodded in agreement. “Inspiring one to change. I do have to agree that it is a magnificent thing.”

Desirée sighed from the memories as she walked over towards them. “Ronny and I are complete opposites: he would rather stick himself in reading philosophy while I rather ride my motorcycle on the highway, but we both share a bond of loving stories, which is why we decided to work here. Stories that history tells us about change, war and peace. Like this one here.”

“Quick question, isn't 'struck' supposed to be spelled 'stroke'?", the blogger asked pointing at the plaque.

The employee explained, “Actually, historians have been theorizing about this. Some argued it was because of the “old language” way. Others think it was intentional. I had a theory that 'struck' would be a past tense of a 'strike', as in there was an attack or a fight, something like that. But something must’ve changed or occurred that the strike didn't occur."

“An attack? Someone was planning to hurt someone else?”

She continued, “Yes, to the prince, it seems. There were some theories but apparently, it was the baker who saved the prince. Fun fact: they were the first gay couple in the royal bloodline.” She pointed the man with dark spiky hair as the baker and to the ponytailed man worn in red as the prince.

Franziska joined in with her own question, “Are you saying that a baker and a prince fallen in love and were gay?”

Mrs. Delite gave a confirming look. “There were such couples long ago but never before was one in the royal family.”

As much as she tried not to, Franziska kept glancing back to the painting with disbelief. This couple has changed the fate of history, bringing prosperity and peace from a dark era. But having the famous couple turned out to be gay is too much to comprehend. _(Perhaps, love has no gender.)_ She shivered from this “possibility”. Certainly, her father would be in disgust and fury to this if he found out, as he is much more of an expert of German history rather than Japanifornia. But there is still that lingering feeling that perhaps he is wrong to judge such a thing. She could only let out a “Hmph” and turned her face away from revealing her puzzled reaction.

The gang paid no attention as Gumshoe replied, “That’s certainly incredible that they changed the kingdom. But how did a baker meet a prince? Weren’t the social classes strictly split up back then?”

Desirée lifted a finger from her folded arms, “That’s an interesting story that everyone wishes to know. Researchers _have_ found lost diary pages of the prince and that box here on display, but no one really knows what happened.”

The artist pointed out, “The painting. The edges seemed to be burned.”

“Yes, centuries after their reign ended, the revolution started and some civilians rescued that painting. Even though they were years apart, people couldn’t get rid of the most important family that changed history.”

Franziska quoted from her experiences, “A legacy to be remembered.” It is certainly something she and Miles are familiar with.

“Unfortunately, this family wouldn’t be able to see how much they inspired everyone.” The employee shook her head until her radio receiver that was attached to her waist erupted with static voice messages. “Oh, it seems I have to leave. If you excuse me, I must be off.”

Edgeworth nodded in understanding. “Thank you for accompanying us and answering our curiosity.”

Phoenix joined him. “Yes, thank you.”

“Not a problem. See you guys at another time!” She gave a quick wave and rushed out of the room. 

Seeing the time left of their study period, they decided to head out, making their way towards the front entrance. Right away, there were piles of towering boxes, each one filled with books or rare artifacts.

“Oh, where is it?”

Gumshoe perked up to the familiar young voice. He peeked behind the tower of nearby boxes. “Kay?”

The group found a young girl, perhaps in her 10s, with long hair and pink overalls, scrambling through the boxes in a desperate search for something. Miles blinked, “Gumshoe, you know this girl?”

He gave a confirming shrug. “I have an internship in the central police department, working with her dad there. I always hang out with Kay whenever her dad would bring her there.”

Little Kay perked up to the sound of his voice, turning around with concerning eyes. “Gummy? What are you doing here?”

He kneeled in front of her, “I go to this school, remember?”

She placed a finger on the tip of her nose to remember. “Oh yeah.”

“But what are you doing here? Aren’t you with that group for today’s school trip that you mentioned the other day?”

She looked back with more concern. “Oh Gummy, I lost my notebook. I must have dropped it and when I realized it was gone, I followed someone putting it here.”

He tilted his head, jogging out the memory. “Your Promise Notebook? Maybe my friends and I can help you.”

Maya jumped in, “Yeah! If we all take a section, we can find that notebook in no time.”

Kay gave a grateful smile. “Thank you, Miss. I promised my dad to keep it safe.”

Something sparked inside of Franziska, luring her to compliment her loyalty for her father. “You are very noble to keep your promises, aren’t you? I must say, you are quite strong for a girl like you.”

The small girl giggled, “Gee, thanks, Miss lady.”

The gang scattered, each one given a couple of boxes to search around. Phoenix, trying to avoid the unbearable dust, quickly searched around through the hundreds of books that they hold. It was a simple spiral notebook, after all. It wouldn’t be that hard to find. Besides, if it meant that much to the poor girl, then they should help her by finding it as swiftly as possible. Peeking from the messenger bag that he always held, Tikki helped him for guidance until something caught her eye. She whispered interruptedly, “Wait, Phoenix! That book in the box over on your left.”

Phoenix looked over the box that she pointed out and pulled out the only book that was in there. It was an old book with a red-brownish hardcover, detailed with red strange scribbles and a large symbol that was shaped like a magatama. 

Or even a kwamataga. “This one? It’s just a normal old book.” He decided to flip through the pages but abruptly stopped to find pictures. Pictures of the miraculous? He flipped some more, showing drawings of what seemed to be past wielders. A black cat miraculous wielder with a ring. A turtle miraculous wielder with a charm bracelet. “Wait, Kuro Neko? Jade Shell? What _is_ this book?”

The kwami waved away the question and unexpectedly advised, “You have to take the book!”

Phoenix was about to yelp at the top of his lungs but his freckled hand clasped his mouth before he allowed himself to do so. He tried to whisper, “What?! I can’t steal this! It’s the library’s!”

The kwami waved her hands as if she expected his reaction. “Phoenix, someone has been searching for this book for a long time and if we don’t take it now, it could fall into the wrong hands!”

“Dark Moth?” Phoenix’s expression turned in surprise.

She nodded. “I’ll explain later but you must trust me on this.”

His face grimed, hesitating on what she instructed. Finally, he looked around him before he discreetly shoved the book into his bag. “Fine, but you better have a good explanation for this.”

She gave a promising look and hid inside his pocket. Gumshoe, who just returned from the vending machine, gave a swiss roll to Kay to help cheer her up. “Everything will be okay, Kay.”

Happily, she thanked him and opened the wrapping, letting her mouth bite into the sweet delicious pastry. With her mouth full, she asked Miles, who she was watching over while Gumshoe was away, “We’ll find that book, right Mister?”

Kneeled over the boxes, Edgeworth shuffled some books to the side, trying to remember what Beetle Bug taught him. “Uh, I believe we can-”

“There is no such thing as believing, Miles Edgeworth. You just find the book and that’s that”, Franziska interrupted from her side of boxes.

He rolled his eyes and continued while Gumshoe joined him to search, “Sometimes, we can’t be certain if we have a way to the end. But like someone I know has said, it doesn’t hurt to perceive and follow the slim possibility. Even if it seems impossible, even if it seems unlikely, there is always a solution. I guess I’m starting to see some sense from what they mean.”

The young girl smiled. “Wow, they seem really smart.”

Miles let out a soft admiring smile himself. “Brilliant in some way, I suppose.” He continued to ramble around until his fingers hit a plain notebook. He pulled it out and showed it to her. “Oh, I think I found it.”

After finishing her last bite, she let out a grateful gasp, taking her notebook back. “Yes! Thank you so much, Mr. Edgeworth!” Without another second, she ran up and hugged him tight, full of appreciation. Miles didn’t know what to do, taken in by the sudden action. But stiffly, he returned a hug, unsure how to properly return the gesture. _What would Beetle do?,_ he thought to himself. They pulled apart and then, she hugged her notebook while Miles just softly patted her head.

Maya ran over to them. “Oh, thank the stars. We should hurry and bring you with the rest of the kids.”

Gumshoe lifted Kay to let her ride on his shoulders. “Let’s go!”

With the gang ready to go, they hurried around to the large parking lot where a row of school busses parked patiently with crowds of elementary students waiting. A teacher looked above the line of impatient children that shuffled into the bus, biting her nails as she grew worried until she spotted the girl with the gang as Gumshoe settled Kay down to her feet. Her breath finally came back and scolded the girl, “Kay Faraday, you shouldn’t have been wandering out there all by yourself.”

She pouted as if her teacher’s reaction was ridiculous, “I couldn’t leave my notebook behind.” But she smiled back at the group, “Thanks for helping me.”

The teacher patted her on the back to signal her to join the other students and moved her attention to the students. She said, “Thank you for bringing her here. I apologize for bothering you for your time.”

Gumshoe shook his head. “It’s no problem, Ma’am. We were lucky to find her.”

The busses packed themselves up and started to drive off. Kay leaned against the window and waved goodbye to the gang, giving off a happy grin. They returned it, satisfied with their act of kindness.

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

“ _..221...222...223…_ ”

Ron hovered over the hardcover spines, counting each box. The library entrance has cleaned out all the cardboard boxes and only left the mountains of piled books, arranged to be counted. After reaching the last book, he paused and quickly flipped through the pages of his clipboard in disbelief. “Wait, one’s missing.”

“One is missing?”

Chills went down his spine to the voice. He turned to see his boss, Luke Atmey, with a cold expression with his hands behind his back. As much as for his ridiculous yellow hairstyle and single monocle magnifying glass, he earned high respect from the university faculty.

Ron waved his hands frantically with a panicking voice, “No, boss, I must’ve made a mistake. Maybe I miscounted-”

He pointed up his Pinocchio-like nose. “No need to push it further, Mr. Delite. Give it up.”

“Wha-what?”

Atmey gave a smug. “Don’t think it isn’t obvious. It is quite obvious that _you_ stole it.”

Coming down from a nearby stairwell, Desirée quickly stood aside in defense of her husband after hearing her boss’s last statement. “Wait, hold on. There must be a mistake. Why would Ronny steal it?”

He huffed with his head pointing up in authority, “You should know better as he is your husband, after all. That book is one of a kind. Priceless, you can say. Don’t think I have forgotten about your criminal history, Ron Delite. Returning to your usual ways, such a ruthful action.” In a glare, he gave his sentence, “With that said, you are fired.”

Ron desperately objected, “B-but you must listen to me! I didn’t steal anything!”

“Say another word and your wife will join you”, he warned with the same glare.

Ron jolted back, not wanting to risk his wife’s job. Instead, he ran out into the hallway, unable to control his despair. Desirée gave a threatening stare at Atmey before racing after her husband.

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

“Honey, this isn’t your fault.”

In the hallway outside the library’s common room, Desirée and Ron sat alone for a private talk. It took a while but she was able to convince him to tell her what happened. With a comforting hand, she rubbed his back for reassurance he needed.

He finally looked up to her with sorrow. “You believe him, don’t you?”

“I don’t care what that bastard says! I believe in you. You wouldn’t do a crime like that.” Her eyes grew in fury and added, “Man, I wish I could run him over with my bike.” She at least wanted to put that last part to her statement. She just wanted her husband to giggle. But instead, his head flopped, looking like a sad puppy, which hurt Desirée even more.

She abruptly stood up and placed her confident hands on her hips. “Alright, we can do it! We can find the book and prove you’re innocent! We can use that description that you told me.”

He only could sigh. “It’s hopeless. This job is the only way to support both of us. And no other employer would accept me. Maybe I shouldn't have been a thief in the first place.”

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

On the other side of the city, a dark lair’s window latched open to let in the afternoon sunbeams while butterflies accepted the warmth, flying freely around the room.

Dark Moth stood tall with his tall cane and declared in a booming voice, “A historian who lost their mark on their new chapter. A perfect victim for my Akuma.”

Letting a white butterfly land on his hand, he grasped it with his other hand, letting the miraculous power to its job, swirling the butterfly with dark energy. Letting go of the dark creature, he instructed it, “Fly away my little Akuma and consume their darkness…”

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

Desirée pleaded with him to not say such things, “Ronny, no. You changed my life and I changed yours. I know it wasn’t you.” 

Ron took his fogged up glasses from his silent sobs to wipe them down. His wife could only watch his sadness but a dark shadow on the mirror behind him caught her attention. Her face grew pale. An Akuma. “Look out!”

Casting herself as a shield, she covered her husband as the dark butterfly emerged into her red goggles. As soon as the darkness gripped her in its grasp, she shook her head with her hands, desperately resisting the Akuma’s power. Ron quickly grabbed her by the shoulders and called out for her, “Dessie! Dessie, please!”

“Book Marker”, a deep voice presented itself in her head, “I’m Dark Moth. I can give you the power to find the unreplaceable book that you have longed to seek. In exchange, I ask that you bring Beetle Bug’s and Kuro Neko’s miraculous.”

“No, you can’t force me to do evil!”, Desirée cried out, despite that no one else could hear this voice. “I’m not willing to hurt anyone!”

“Who said anything about evil? Don’t you want to prove that your husband is innocent? Don’t you want to fix everything to how it was before?”

Ron pleaded to his wife, “Dessie! Sweetie, please stay strong! You can defeat the Akuma.”

She trembled until her limbs became numb in defeat. A tear rolled down her cheek as she apologized, “I’m sorry, Ronny.”

Ron fell back onto the ground as dark magic consumed her whole. As the evilness took her over, she called out in an unnatural tone, “Don’t worry, my sweetie. I’ll bring everything back to normal, I promise.”

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

As the gang started to walk back on the campus field, a strange smell rose into their senses. Gumshoe pointed it out first, “Something’s off.” Suddenly, several cries rumbled through the air, making them jolt into the direction towards the library only to face a horrifying sight.

“A fire!”, Maya called out. A large cloud of smoke and flames cornered each door and window, burning the site into the ground. The group quickly assisted the students that just collapsed from running out of the front doors. Helping a female student with round glasses, Phoenix helped her to her feet and asked, “What happened?”

“I don’t know”, the ash-covered student coughed. “Everything was alright until smoke started coming from the basement. I think most of the building was evacuated.”

He gave a slight nod and patted her to leave the scene, “Go and stay safe.”

Miles hung up the phone call that he was in. “I’ve called the authorities, they should be here at any minute.”

The artist looked around before saying, “We should go too.”

All the students scattered in different directions, trying to escape from the burning scene. Miles and Phoenix quickly ran to the sides of the nearby law education building, one boy to the left and one to the right. Crouching over in the bushes, they each give their kwamis a boost of energy through cookies and cheese.

Phoenix stiffed his shoulders in determination as his little companion munched on her snack. “The firemen may be coming but who knows who’s still in there.”

Meanwhile, Miles fidgeted with his index finger, profound with a thought. He questioned Plagg for his opinion, “The fire started in the basement, don’t you think it’s a little suspicious?”

The kwami shrugged after he devoured his Camembert, “You always point things out as suspicious, Miles, but I think you’re right this time.”

Despite being in two separate places, the boys declared in unison, “Time to transform!”

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

“Tikki, **Spots On** !” | “Plagg, **Claws Out**!”

The miraculous magic passes through them, separate yet simultaneously. But there is something different, something new. There was a sense of a mysterious mix of energy. A strange combination of soothing, pure power with the contrast of electrifying, destructive force. Despite these opposites, they swirled more and more together in unison, getting closer and closer as one. Something failed, however, as the combination frizzled and broke this connection, eliminating its sharp intensity from the wielders.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

Both of them crashed on the close bushes from the overpower of the transformation. They pulled themselves up, ruffling the random leaves from their heads. _Woah, that was weird_ , they both thought. But they shook their heads to refocus. Their duties come first. They quickly ran out from their hiding spots and onto the campus fields, accidentally bumping into each other in surprise.

“Oh, you’re here!”, they both said.

Kuro Neko asked, “How did you get here so fast?”

“I think it’s pretty easy to see smoke in the distance on such a clear day”, Beetle Bug responded, as if it was obvious. “And you?”

Kuro cleared his throat. “I was in the area. Besides, I did see some fire trucks coming this way anyway.”

Beetle nodded and gestured at the library, “There could still be some people in there.”

Kuro pulled out his baton and pressed a couple of buttons. “Let’s check first. We’ll use my stick to track heat signatures.”

Even though he was an inch smaller than his partner, Phoenix went on his tippy toes to view over his partner’s shoulder. “See anyone?”

The screen is viewed in a kaleidoscope of bright purples, oranges, and yellows. Some of the heat signatures were from the fire and machines but no sign of life inside. “All clear.” But just as he passed the sensor towards the front doors, the baton beeped wildly, indicating at a large yellow spot. “Wait, I’m getting a big heat signature... and it’s heading this way?”

A rise of engine noise escalated towards them. A white and red origami bike zoomed, stopping in front of the heroes in a 180-degree drift while a trail of fire followed behind. Its red-suited rider wearing bright red goggles on her eyes flashed a grin and announced, “Nothing can stop Book Marker from finding what I want. Looks like you heroes made it on the right page.”

The hero pair exchanged a look. “An Akumatized victim?”, they both wondered.

The rider avoided their mild confusion. “I suggest a simple trade: hand over your miraculous and the missing book, then I’ll leave without a spark.”

The cat raised a brow. “Wait, what book?”

Beetle froze and frantically shrugged too much, stammering, “Well, I-I don’t know- it was a library, after all, it could be any book...” But he did signal with a slight head nod, _I’ll tell you later but now’s not the time_.

His partner gave a small nod in return. Beetle continued, with more confidence this time, “We won’t hand our miraculous over to you.”

She left out a crackle. “Such idiots, it’s only Dark Moth that is after the miraculous, not I; I’m only here for the book.” With her heeled foot, she stepped heavily on the petal, widening her grin. “But since you denied to give either, time for your words to burn.”

The red goggles that she wore flashed red with its indicators aimed, locking at the pair. With the gas on the petal, she shifted into a drift, firing at them with a ring of burning fire. The heroes somersaulted back, both in split directions.

They both cried out for each other, “Earpiece.”

Pressing a button of both their yoyo and baton, a small black earbud dropped on their palms and stuck it to their ear for communication. As the students scattered away from the firing scene, the heroes twirled their baton and yoyo as shields. Book Marker sent flares of spark and flames with each one of them missing them by a few inches. Beetle dodged underneath one but the fire slightly lit up the tips of his spiky hair like candles on a birthday cake. He ruffled them, patting the fire out before it could get worse.

“What do we do? She is obsessed with that book”, Kuro spoke through the earbud.

Beetle flipped over another blast to see that the grass was starting to burn into charcoal. “The Akuma must be in a power source. Maybe her motorcycle?”, he suggested.

Kuro leaped in front of a line of running students, shielding them from getting the blasts with his baton as they ran to safety. “No, just because it may be her weapon, it doesn’t always mean that it’s the source of its power. She uses her goggles the most. For aim. Otherwise, she might as well burn the city into flames. It has to be her goggles.”

The red bug hopped over a patch of burning grass. “But we can’t get near her before her flames touch us first.”

A student nearby tripped with all her books flying out of her bag. Book Marker’s goggles flashed red and quickly sent a blast at flames. With no choice, Beetle used his yoyo to pull the student out of the way, but just as he did so, a blast hit his right shoulder, burning through his suit and skin. He collapsed to his knees, unable to resist the pain. _A pain that feels rather familiar..._

“Beetle Bug!”

Kuro Neko ran up to him, after sliding under a ring of fire, and covered for him. He asked over his shoulder, “Are you okay? We should retreat-”

“I’m fine”, the red bug weakly replied, letting out a harsh whimper.

Kuro burst out in objection, “You are in no condition to fight!” 

He explained, gripping on his yoyo, “The more important thing is to retrieve the Akuma. But I think we need a plan.”

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

**“Lucky Charm!”**

With the flick of his wrist, his yoyo was launched into the air as magic ladybugs swirled above it, constructing the object needed for the task.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

An empty sketchbook fell on to Beetle Bug’s hand with the usual confused staring.

Kuro raised his voice at the absurdity of it all, “A book? You want us to become even more as targets than we already are?”

Splitting his yoyo into two, Beetle Bug transformed it into his staff. He balanced himself with it, using it as a walking stick. He replied, “Look: the more books she burns, the more fire potential the bike gets.”

The book that laid next to them burned and turned into flying sparks, swiftly emerging with the engine of the motorcycle, giving it power.

”So to get rid of her shield of fire, we must burn her fuel out”, the cat concluded. “But the city is filled with books, she would burn everything to the ground.”

“Which is why we must force her to stay in one place.” Gripping on his staff, he looked at the cover of the sketchbook, peering at a familiar detailed cover. 

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

The book

The small scattered patches of unburned grass

His yoyo

His hands

Kuro Neko

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

“By using bait.”

After an exchange of whispers, Kuro ran to the other side while Beetle called out, “Hey Bookmarker! Looking for this?”

The revelation shocked her and she demanded, “Give it here!”

He gave a smile. “Then come and get it!” He threw it over the burning field like a Frisbee to Kuro Neko, who was waiting at the other side. He waved it mockingly with a smirk on his face. _You wanted it, didn’t you? Come and get it yourself_.

Out of rage, Book Marker drove her bike towards him but just a few meters before she could reach him, the cat swirled it over her and back to the bug. “Touchdown!”, the red partner called out jokingly.

Her temper reached her limits as well as her speedometer as she drifted her bike towards him. Just before a couple of meters, he threw it into the air and hit it with his staff like a baseball bat, sending it once again to the other side. “Homerun!”, Neko congratulated once he caught it.

Her anger has turned redder than the color of her goggles as she let out a desperate yell. Once again, she spun her bike, no doubting sending a storm of fire and smoke. This time, Beetle flipped backward to safety, landing softly to not injure more of his shoulder. The pair exchanged a nod and decided to run around her in a continuous circle. Kuro slid the book underneath the flares and blasts for Beetle to safely grab it from the other side. 

Out of fun and possible teasing, he grabbed it and balanced it on his limbs, as if it was a bouncing ball, and with an overhead kick, he kicked it over to the other side. The pair cried out, “GOAL!”, with Beetle celebrating with a small victory dance.

A cycle of this mockery had her speeding up more and more, pressing the gas to the maximum to try to get from one side to the other more quickly. And every time she did so, the fire flare coming out of the bike’s windpipe began to shrink, quicker and quicker. After the seventh round, Beetle dodged with a double flip for him to see that flare was almost coming to nothing but faint smoke. _(It’s working!)_

Beetle Bug turned his staff back to his yoyo and let out a whistle, letting his partner know that it was time for the final step. Kuro whistled back, once again giving a swing kick at the book. Beetle caught it in time, just to see Bookmark driving towards him and as they expected, her bike gave up on her, sending her crashing to the grass. No gas was left. For pure desperation, she quickly stood up and ran with a wild expression.

“Well, you want it? Here you go!”, Beetle declared mockingly before sending the book near her.

With her last wits, she scrambled towards it and onto her knees, finally having the book at her fingertips. She popped her goggles onto her forehead, to see it was the cover that was described to her. “Finally, the book. I have the book!” For curiosity, she decided to take a peek. She flipped open to a random page to find that it was empty. 

“Huh?”, she questioned and she flipped some more. And more. And more. To find that all the pages were empty, that it wasn’t the book at all. A fake.

Beetle called out to his partner, who was running up to him, “Your turn, Kuro!” With his hands, he gave Kuro a boost for him to perform the riskiest and perfectly timed action. With a jump, Neko flipped over the burning walls of fire and used the untouched patches to briefly land with enough precision to make it across.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

**“Cataclysm”**

Black energy whirled around his single fist, bubbling for destruction.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

If their calculations were correct, the last low angled wide jump would work perfectly for Kuro to be close enough to her. With a single finger, he slid it across the goggles and landed a few feet in front of her, letting the destructive power crumble them into ash.

“NOOOOO”, Book Marker cried out before collapsing out of the daze, letting the dark energy swirl off her and freeing Akuma from the cinders.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

Beetle opened his yoyo into purification mode with the swipe of his finger and swung it in circles, 

**“No more evil-doing for you, little Akuma... Time to De-evilize!”**

With the swipe of his yoyo, he brought the captured Akuma back in the palm of his hand,

“ **Gotcha!** ” 

Pressing the middle spot, the yoyo opened to release the now purified butterfly,

“ **Bye-bye, little butterfly.** ”

Finally, he launched his lucky charm into the air to repair the damage that has been done,

“ **Miraculous Beetle Bug!** ”

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

Magical ladybugs swirled around the campus, bringing the grass back to life and returning the victim to herself.

From the sleeplike drowsiness, Desirée pondered at the heroes in front of her, “Oh, what happened?”

Kuro Neko let out a hand and lifted her to her feet. “It’s alright, ma’am. You became a victim of an Akuma attack but it has been resolved with no harm.” He peered over behind him to see Beetle covering a hand over his shoulder, possibly hiding it to prevent any heart-wrenching concerns and self-blame from the poor woman. “For the most part.”

Desirée’s mind clicked as the last moment before the akumatization began to reel back, “Oh dear, I couldn’t resist Dark Moth’s Akuma. I was weak.”

“Mrs. Delite, Dark Moth is a manipulative person; there is a slim possibility to not resist”, Beetle reassured. “But it doesn’t mean it is impossible. As long as we believe there is a chance to solve our problem, we won’t fall in the darkness.”

Her shoulders slumped. “I only wanted to help my husband. I love him with all my heart and I accepted him fixing his past errors, but I know he wouldn’t steal anything.”

Beetle suggested, “Was it a book?”

She stared blankly before blinking twice, surprised at how they knew. “Yes! He said something about the book having a reddish-brown cover with a red circle symbol. Oh, and it had a nine looking figure in the middle.”

A thrown rock clinked against Kuro’s silver baton that he used as his cane. His head turned towards its direction to find a book no fewer than a few feet from him. With some stick maneuvers, he flipped the book for him to catch it into his hands. “Is this the book?”, he presented it to her.

Desirée’s eyes lit up, taking the book with gratitude. “That’s it!” 

Beetle Bug jumped to see the book there. Facing away for a second, he opened his yoyo into pouch mode and his hand searched for the book he took. Sure enough, his fingers brushed against the familiar hardcover. Taking his hand out, he raised a brow. _(If I still have the book here, then what is that one?)_

The woman continued, flipping through the pages to examine it, “But that snobby Atmey won’t still believe us and think we stole it.”

“I’ll go with you. That way, it’ll give you an alibi and I can put reason”, Kuro Neko proposed before turning to his red partner. “Besides, Beetle, I got more time than you.”

Beetle gave him an exhausted nod. “Thanks.”

**“Pound it!”** , they said in unison.

Beetle gathered up his yoyo string while his partner warned him, “And Beetle, please be careful.”

Beetle gave a comforting smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll patch myself up and I’ll be fine, but I appreciate your concern.” 

However, Kuro’s expression remained the same. He only sighed and said, “I’ll see you tonight, my lucky bug.”

The bug gave his farewell, “See you later. Bug Out!”

With that, the spotted hero launched himself into the air, swinging away into the sea of the city, with his partner only looking back with a mix of concern and admiration for the stubbornness of his partner.

The trip was quick as it only took a glance and a few words from Kuro Neko to face Luke Atmey. Even giving him his classic glare after the hero warned that he might even talk to the university for the boss’s actions. Such a victory for the Delites as the three of them walked out of Atmey’s office. Desirée gave her first thanks, “I can’t thank you enough. You both have done us such a great deed.”

Ron joined, “Not only you both saved Dessie but have proven my innocence!”

Kuro Neko gave his sophisticated small bow as he noted, “We did nothing more than bring justice, as a duty of a superhero.”

“I do have to say, you and Beetle Bug seem very close”, Desirée pointed out.

“It’s the bond we have as partners”, he explained. “We put our deepest trust for each other, especially in the line.”

Both the Delites exchanged a knowing look, only for Kuro having no choice but to ask, “I beg your pardon, but is something to matter?”

Mrs. Delite advised, “There is more under the surface: it will only take time to reveal yourselves from each other’s blindness, reveal what is truly inside.”

The cat’s ears tilted, still unsure of what she meant but his ring interrupted with the familiar beeping noise, warning him of his final minutes, “I hate to interrupt but if you excuse me, I must take my leave.”

He waved goodbye and ran out towards the nearest exit. The couple called out for the final time, “Thank you again.”

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

The lair’s wall would’ve quivered in silence, but this time, they stood tall with a foreseen victory. The pure butterflies even have a sense of triumph in their delicate flight. In the middle of it all, there stood Dark Moth, reflecting for the next step.

“Pain and suffering, you endured its hell. Your ally arises in the shadows, the protector of the jewels, and with this, I have prepared my pawns in the chessboard of our war and made my first move. Your turn, Guardian.”

The lair window closed, drowning everyone in the depths of the infinite darkness, as well as a final crackle that followed into the wicked harmony of victory.

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

The single public bathroom’s vanity was scattered with cloth bandages, cotton balls, and all sorts of aiding creams and liquids. The sink faucet ran endlessly with icing water, cold enough to relieve the pain. Phoenix picked out a safety pin as Tikki helped wrap the disinfected shoulder with a bandage roll. As much as he was in a serious condition, it is too risky to go to the hospital as it was no ordinary fire burn. It was magical, supernatural. The worst part was that the miraculous ladybugs can cure the civilians that were burned but not the wielder themselves, only leaving the possibility for the city to see that Phoenix Wright is _the_ Beetle Bug.

Tikki informed, stretching the roll for the final wrap, “Just a little more, Phoenix...and, there!”

Phoenix attached the pin, fastening tightly. He sighed in relief gripping the edge of the sink, “Stars, that’s done. We were lucky that we had extra bandages.”

The red kwami commented, “It looks really bad.”

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is saving the victim and helping the civilians”, he shook his head, not wanting to take the risk. After a calm moment, he started to pack up his kit and button up his shirt. “We should head out.”

She agreed and helped him with the lighter objects. Placing the kit back into his bag, next to the folded up umbrella and his sketchbooks, Wright checked once again if he had the right book, flipping the pages briefly. He hummed, seeing that it was.

He wrapped the bag’s strap over the uninjured shoulder and reminded Tikki to hide before unlocking the door. It wasn’t at least a few seconds later when he spotted the gang standing around on the open field. Maya yelled out from the distance, “Nick! What took you so long?”

The artist apologized as he made his way to them, “Sorry, I was _wrapped up_ in a bad situation when the attack started.” Technically, he wasn’t wrong.

Maya shrugged, “Well it ended so everything’s fine!” Without warning, she patted on his injured shoulder.

Wright bit his tongue, preventing himself to cry in pain. “Mmph...Uh, yeah, everything is fine now.” The good part was that no one noticed his strange behavior.

“Unfortunately, by the time the attack finished, classes were already over”, Edgeworth interrupted his thoughts, changing the subject due to the lack of time.

He nodded. “Right. We’ll walk with you to the parking lot.” As they all walked down the sidewalk leading to the parking lot, Phoenix fidgeted with his bag strap, anticipating to ask something to the boy next to him. “Um, anyway, I was hoping that we could hang out again.”

Miles grimaced, seeing through his mental schedule. “Due to our strict times, it is becoming harder and harder to free up space.”

Phoenix nodded, showing that he truly comprehended. “I know. But we’ll think of something.”

Miles let out a deep sigh. “We already risked too much. We are here to study and work hard. A’s aren’t going to earn themselves, you know.” A legacy, just like the royal family in that painting.

“Yeah, but sometimes, you should let yourself rest and have fun. Even just for a bit. Too much work isn’t good for your health”, the artist suggested with a gentle smile as they all made their way to Edgeworth’s parked sports car. The student pondered, “I’ll think about it. Thanks, Wright.”

And with that, he and Franziska drove away, leaving the other three waving them goodbye.

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

The train ride home was solo as Phoenix’s club activities were moved in another day, leaving Maya and Gumshoe at their own clubs. Not wanting to wait any longer, the artist sat himself the loneliest spot on the car and pulled out the book to examine it closely with his kwami. He flipped each page carefully, letting Tikki view its context. She quietly noted, “I’m sorry that you placed yourself in danger for this, but this information is extremely sacred.”

The artist remained his bewildered expression as he traced his finger on the inked marks on the paper. “Information? But all it has is some kind of weird messages.”

“I know someone who can decipher them. Someone who has been looking for this for a long time.”

Flipping another page, one showing a bunny miraculous wielder with a silver watch, he questioned, “So then, what’s the information if it was written in code?”

She explained, “The book contains all the secrets of the miraculous powers which is why the code is there, to prevent anyone from understanding it if it falls in the wrong hands.”

“Then, who is this someone?”

Tikki tapped her chin before she took a deep breath, unsure if her decision is going to be worth it. “The great Guardian, and I think the time has come to finally meet them.”

She continued, “I’m going to tell you directions, verbally, so then you transform into Beetle and follow them.”

Phoenix looked up at the car’s ceiling where a dome security camera stood, on a 24/7 watch. “Couldn’t you just write down the address?”

“The Guardian is the most important person so misplacing the note will be devastating, which is why I’m giving you only rooftop clues”, she said, later adding that cameras can’t detect her movements or conversations. “Go on your balcony and start from there.”

With a train ride later and on his balcony as the starting point, Beetle swung himself from rooftop to rooftop, reciting the directions that Tikki told him. 

_Go to the rooftop next to the painted mural of a beach landscape on a brick wall._ He landed on the mural, clinging with only one hand free, scanning to the next clue.

_From the mural, you’ll see an old factory with a large standing smoke pipe, It should still have a symbol of an “M” with a circle around it._ He zipped himself east, landing on edge of the pipe like a stilt.

_After that, pass through the rooftop with a broken antenna wrapped around with green duct tape and then pass the rooftop with a flower garden._ He jumped onto the railing of the garden to find a series of apartment buildings, feeling he has been in this neighborhood before. 

_Lastly, there should be a single rooftop with orange curtains. That is the final stop._ Gently, he dropped down and out of the street’s view, he detransformed. Facing the closed glass doors, Phoenix let out a breath and knocked twice in a polite manner.

“Come in.”

He and Tikki slide open the door, peeking into the room as the orange curtains block much of the inside. The room was small and had many books and glass containers arranged by strangest substances, all organized neatly and clean. In the middle of the room, there was a brown long-haired woman, kneeling in front of a low coffee table with an elegant tea set on top. She wore a black and white suit with a large orange rode and a lighter orange ribbon wrapping around her waist. On her lap, she laid an orange flute-like instrument with white stripes. Around her neck was a long orange scarf with a white tip and a fox tail pendant. A fox miraculous.

She greeted calmly, “Hello, Beetle Bug. And to you too, Tikki.”

Without much choice, the artist slid the door behind him to close and stood in front of her with curiosity and confusion. Tikki spoke first, “I apologize, Master, but there has been a new revelation that you must know.”

The Guardian raises her hand in forgiveness. “No worries, Tikki. Your wisdom has brought you at the right time.”

Awkwardly, he greeted back, “Um...hi? You must be the Guardian, right?”

“Correct”, she replied. “Phoenix, your morals and endurance has brought you a long way for you to earn your earrings. I knew from the very moment I saw you, I knew you would make a fantastic Beetle Bug.”

“But who are you? If you were the one that gave me my miraculous, then you must’ve trusted me, right? You must’ve known who I am”, he said, still having questions rambling in his head.

Without another word, she grabbed her flute and lightly tapped it to the ground. Suddenly, swirls of bright orange mist faded out, revealing the room’s true look while an echoing of a playing flute, ending this illusion.

**“Trixx, Let’s Rest.”**

The pendant glowed and magic swirled off, revealing the true identity of the Guardian. The woman had a casual black suit, yellow scarf, and long brown hair; it was no doubt that it was her... 

It was Mia Fey.

Wright blinked and cried out, “M-Mia? _YOU’RE_ the one that gave me the miraculous?!” 

She huffed at his surprised reaction, “Well geez, Phoenix. You were kind of slow to connect the dots.”

Speechless, he couldn’t respond. Tikki, however, introduced her as if she was a completely different person, “Master Mia is the last in line in the Order of the Guardians!”

“Guardians of the Miraculous, that is!”, a fox kwami joined in before they introduced themself, “I’m Trixx, Master’s kwami.”

“Nice to meet you”, he returned the greeting.“Hold up, does Maya know you’re a Guardian? Or even Lana?”

She shook her head. “Of course, Maya doesn’t know. If she did, she wouldn’t have started the Miracle Blog in the first place. I knew that she wouldn’t want to risk my life but she is somewhat risking hers to record for the blog. So, to keep her safe, I gave her my old kwagatama. The kwagatama, like the one you have there,” She pointed at the green one attached to his bracelet. “gives the ability to locate anyone that wears it and carry the spirits of the past miraculous holders. That’s why I was able to know wherever she was when she reports for the MiracleBlog. Even though I despise the blog, it conveniently gave me plenty of information analysis for me to use. ” 

_The yellow one that Maya always wore as a necklace, was Mia’s old kwamataga. No wonder Mia knew where Maya and I were faster than the blog itself,_ the artist concluded.

She continued, “Lana, on the other hand, _does_ know. A long time ago, back when I was in college. I trusted Lana with a miraculous. She still has hers actually, the peacock miraculous.” She led out a hand as she reached for her teapot and the teacups. “Come and have some tea, I’ll answer to the best of my abilities.”

Phoenix sat across from her, cross-legged, as she poured him a cup. “You said you’re last in line?”

She nodded as she handed him the soothing drink. “Remember when I told you ‘When the time is right’?”

“Yeah, about the picture in the hallway?”, he remembered and let the cup sit warming in his hands.

“The time has finally come to tell you”, she finished pouring her cup and took a sip before she began, “When I was young, my mother was the Guardian before me. As Guardians, we must protect and distribute the miraculous for the good for all humanity. Since I was her oldest daughter, she taught me everything she knew. Its magic and its secrets.” 

She took another deep sip. “But then Dark Moth rose-”

“Wait wait, Dark Moth existed long ago?”, he interrupted.

“Yes, the butterfly miraculous had gone missing and fallen into the wrong hands. About that, I’m currently going through a confidential mission given by the Order of the Guardians. The mission… remains _large_. Ever since I became the new Guardian, I promised myself that I will complete the mission and retrieve the butterfly miraculous from Dark Moth.” She gripped on her saucer with sorrowed brown eyes. “And suddenly, he disappeared. No one knew where to. But I knew I still had to investigate, continue what they couldn’t do...”

Phoenix glanced at the two kwamis who were sharing a small cup of tea. “Then, Dark Moth came back.”

She looked at him with honesty. “Yes. I know I’ll be able to fight him on my own but that would mean that I would have to leave the miracle box here with Maya, both unprotected. If Dark Moth found out, I’ll be too late to save her. That’s why I trusted you.” Another sip.

He took his sip, swallowing the sweet warm tea, and blinked again at her. “Why me?”

She placed her cup back on the china saucer. “First off, I couldn’t just give a miraculous to anyone without knowing them inside and out. A mistake that I learned from a long time ago. And second, you are willing to risk your life for anyone who needs help. Like that time you took a hit for your partner when you faced off Pearl. Or that time when you risked your timing on your first battle by jumping off that skyscraper. All those times that you would have lost your life, you instead persevered and stayed strong, something that’s rare within many people.” 

He smiled softly. “I’m grateful for you choosing me, Mia.”

Setting her tea back on the tray, she asked, “Speaking of your partner, has Kuro Neko told you about how he got his miraculous?”

Hovering the rim of the cup close to his lips, he spoke before taking another sip, “Well, at first, I thought **_you_ ** gave it to him, but then he said it was given to him as a present. Handed down to him or something like that. I guess you weren’t the one who gave him his ring?”

She shook her head. “No, it wasn’t me. One day, I will talk to him personally about it.”

_(So Mia_ **_doesn’t_ ** _know who he really is…)_ He placed the empty teacup on the tray as well and pulled the book out of his bag, handing it back to its rightful owner. “So, what’s with the book?”

Taking it into her hands, she flipped it through. “It’s the Miraculous spellbook, or grimoire as I like to call it. It holds various spells capable of giving the miraculous special abilities we haven’t known about.”

“But all it has is some weird symbols”, the artist pointed out, signaling at the coded message on a page of the dragon miraculous wielder with a red beaded choker.

She corrected him, “Not weird to Guardians. My mother taught me enough to decipher much of the code to be able to read it.”

“Still, why was it in Ivy’s museum?”

“Some historians recently discovered it and brought the book there. I knew I couldn’t just take it myself and leave; it would be too risky. So I planned to place a decoy and switch out the books. But of course, you know what happened”, she responded.

_(So Mia was the one who left the decoy after Kuro and I saved Mrs. Delite.)_ He nodded, his hand gripping near his injury. “I do have one question, though. Why would Dark Moth want mine and Kuro’s miraculous? The victims that we fought seemed to be after them for him. What would happen if they possessed both the ring and the earrings?”

Her face grew serious. “The bearer can use them conjointly. They don’t even have to wear them, they can hold them in their hands and still use them. And if that would happen to occur, then the holder would be given the Ultimate Power, the power to shape reality.”

“ _Ultimate Power_?”

Her head tilted as she simplified, “The wielder basically can make any single wish come true.”

His eyes lit up by this discovery and threw up a confident fist. “Woah, we could’ve used this to help the world! We could’ve asked for so many good things: end all wars, help out poverty, or even find Dark Moth!”

She briefly waved her hand, gesturing that he should settle down. “It is not that simple, Phoenix. The universe must remain in balance; for every wish, there is a price to pay in return. For example, if someone wishes to bring someone from the dead, then someone else would have to lose their life in return.”

His shoulders slightly slump in concern. “Oh, I see.”

“Which is why you and Kuro Neko have to protect your miraculous with your life. With Dark Moth after you, the universe would be at stake”, she commented. “Worse if any of you get akumatized as you become under his control.”

“I promise we will try our best, Chief!” He stood up tall with a salute but slumped into awkwardness. “Is it okay if I call you that instead of Master?”

The young woman chuckled but nodded. “I’m guessing that you’ll be talking about this to Kuro Neko, aren’t you?”

He smiled. “Of course, he is my partner. He has the right to know.”

She gave another nod, this time for allowing him to do this action. “Alright, but if he asks for more, tell him that I’ll talk to him myself when the time is right.”

Phoenix transformed back into Beetle Bug and said, “Thank you, Chief, for believing me and my partner. We promise to lend you a helping hand in this investigation. May I be excused? I believe Neko is waiting for me for patrol.”

She waved her hand, giving his permission to leave for the incoming evening.

“See you tomorrow, Mia!”, he called out before swinging back into the city.

Mia strolled over after him to the balcony with Trixx following her behind. Placing her hands on the balcony railing, the guardian looked over the view of the city, full of life and rising hope. A small breeze passed by, flowing her yellow scarf out into the air. The fox kwami softly landed on her shoulder, following their master’s gaze into the sunset.

“Do you think Phoenix can do this?”, Trixx asked.

“I believe in him. In them. They are up to the job”, Mia reassured. “It will only be a matter of time.”

She walked back through the sliding doors and to her bedside. Sitting on the bed, Mia opened the cabinet of her side table and pulled out a vintage piece of paper. She carefully unfolded it, preventing a rip. When she managed to open it fully, she leaned in from the overfilling nostalgia.

It was a colored picture, a replica of the one from the corridor outside. This time, however, was the full picture. The center, of course, was her, Maya, and her mother, Misty Fey. But the rest of it was also blooming with life. Around them were their family friends with their children. All of them were so close, enjoying each other’s company, especially because her mother became friends with them since college. 

Mia gave a confident grin at the sight of her mother. “Hello, Mom. I’m still keeping my promise. We will defeat Dark Moth, once and for all. This will be the end of the mission, I can feel it.”

It wouldn’t take long before the end would come near, as she knew that allies would come a long way through the darkness to come to the light. All it will take is time. Time to find the truth. Time to earn the trust and skill within the team. For now, it only leaves the responsibility to help the closest people to all of them, just like in the old picture.

On the left of the girls, for example, were the closest of all the friends to them. The man who was a father had slick black hair, rectangular glasses, and wore a casual red tie whereas his wife had curly warm gray hair with parted bangs and an elegant cocktail dress. Their shy boy was a brilliant combination of both as he had his mother’s hair and his father’s shining steel eyes. Even his clothes were a blend, as he wore a blue bowtie and red blazer in contrast to his grey shorts…

“We’ll meet again, Miles Edgeworth.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *small cliffhanger 👀*
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed this episode and I love to hear your reactions through AO3 or on my Instagram. Also in my linktree, you can find the AU Guide as a PowerPoint/pdf.
> 
> Next episode: Turnabout Reflection
> 
> Thanks again and stay miraculous!


	8. Turnabout Reflection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A foggy day in Kurain City as our heroes saved the city once more. But as mysteries and faded memories unfold, the pair would have to go through an investigation to find the truth behind a series of thefts. Or will it lead to something more? They would have to work together to meet the reflection of their lives...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone! I'm back with another episode! (sorry it took so long) But please enjoy this late-December edition of Miraculous Turnabout!

The saturated blue-hued city was layered in fog, with enough visibility to view a few blocks down on the concrete sidewalk before everything else fades into the unknown. Up above, there laid the clear sky where a few skyscrapers stood tall across the field of clouds, creating the illusion of a whole new world in the air.

Down below, in the residential streets of Kurain City, there laid a particular red-bricked building with a unique orange-curtained balcony on the 5th floor. The Feys’ apartment springs in the sense of magic from the ordinary as the grandfather clock chimed its afternoon ring,

**1:00 PM**

The white-painted bedroom door opened wide as Phoenix and Mia shuffled out of the room. The artist let out a long yawn as his exhaustion and frustration mixed when he got towards the kitchen area with his mentor. Considerably so, he and the rest of the superhero team had to save dozens of passengers from an off-railed subway train that morning. Although he was glad to help, it tired him out. He said drowsily as he sat on a dark barstool next to the wooden counter, “Stars, Mia. I’ll never get the difference between the ‘p’ and ‘q’ symbols.”

“Just remember that the dots and circles are placed in different corners”, Mia reminded him as opened the refrigerator to take out ingredients for dinner later in the evening. She poked her head out from the door, “Want a can?”

“Thanks”, he said, remaining his tired emotion, as she slid the soda across the smooth counter.

Mia herself opened a can and took a sip but noticed how slumped her student’s shoulders were. “Cheer up, it was your first day learning the Guardian language, after all. My reveal happened a few days ago but look at you now, learning a whole new language. Took me one or two years to figure out the difference between ‘c’ and ‘d’.”

His eyes lit up, unexpected by her confession, then chuckled, “Really? That was the easiest for me!” Mia always seemed to know how to make him and Maya feel better. _I think it’s just an older sibling thing_ , he thought. He shifted in his stool, sitting up a bit straighter, and asked, “So the top-ranking title is ‘Guardian’ and then it’s ‘Masters’, ‘Wielders’, and then ‘Kwamis’?”

“Yup. Think of everyone as chess pieces, each piece has a specific title based on its ability”, she answered as she took another sip. She then turned around to turn on the stove and poured water from the sink's faucet into a pot.

He opened his can and shrugged as he tried to genuinely comprehend, “Not really into chess but I guess it works.”

The sound of a door clicking open and then, closed for Maya to appear from the entrance corridor. “I’m so hungry”, she cried out in such a drama that Phoenix could have mistaken her for being a Theatre student at Ivy. _Then again,_ he corrected this initial thought, _all three of us are theatre kids_. After all, it was just a few hours ago when all three of them sang the whole Hamilton musical before Maya had to leave for the day.

He took a sip of his can with a smirk ready when he asked, “How was your group? Did you perhaps upgrade your phone resolution from the shitty frames per second?”

“Haha, very funny”, Maya rolled her eyes at the sibling-like banter as she reached for a bag of cheddar cheese-covered chips. She shoved her hand into it. “We got the new peeps, Penny and Lotta, so we spent the time introducing ourselves and the system. Larry, well, _was_ sketching the new blog logo but we all got a bit distracted by the Star Snacks cart.” She pulled out on what seemed like an exceptional sized chip to her and ate it as she grumpily stated, “And I forgot my wallet here.”

Mia turned towards her and scoldingly waved her spaghetti serving spoon. “Don’t eat anything; dinner’s almost ready.”

Instead of taking her older sister’s warning, Maya took a palm-full of chips and shoved it into her mouth. She made sure she had her mischievous smile on, despite her cheeks were full and munching on her cheesy goodness. Mia sighed and tried to take the bag from her but Maya’s hand sprung back, making sure she wouldn’t be able to grab it, and teasingly sticking her tongue out. 

Phoenix stood over the counter and took the bag from the blogger, thieving himself in a handful of chips. Maya hissed and snatched the bag back from the pleased artist before Mia herself was able to grab the bag at last. 

She waved her index finger in a scold, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

They all give off a laugh before Maya joins Phoenix at the counter, “Hey Nick, can you help me with something?”

“What’s up?”, he asked as she took the stool next to him. He passed a paper napkin for each of them to clean their cheesy hands.

After wiping the cheddar off her fingers, she pulled out the laptop from her pink backpack and quickly typed on her keyboard. “Well, the MiracleBlog allows anyone to put a request on what the blog could theorize and if it’s good enough, we work on it. But there are so many requests that it’s starting to look like my email inbox”, she explained, her tone revealing stress.

He nodded in comprehension. “Okay, got my laptop”, the artist pulled out his device from the bag that he left since he came for the visit. He opened it up and pulled up her blog site. “Now, what do I do? I have no idea how to do this. Are you going to put your login or-?”

She pulled a sly grin and took his laptop, “Oh no, you’re going to be part of the group!”

“What?! I already told you that I can’t be part of it!”, he sprang in his seat, pleading for an explanation.

As she typed, her head nodded like she expected his bizarre reaction. “ _Actively_ part of it. But I can make you as an editor, oh, also head of website design and art! Pretty laid back, all you gotta do is just read over for any errors and just make the blog look interesting.”

“And that doesn’t sound _‘laid back’_ at all.”

“I am the creator, reporter, and admin so I’ll see everything before we publish”, she said as she passed his computer back before returning to hers. “And there, you’re in. Might as well add you on the team’s Discord.”

“What in the entire universe is Discord? All I worked on the internet is posting art on Tumblr.”

“You’ll get used to it. Okay, go to your inbox -- left-hand corner,” she guided him as she leaned over and hovered her finger over the computer screen, “under your profile icon -- and go to ‘requests’. You do the ones marked red and I’ll do the others.”

Letting out a deep sigh of defeat as Maya returned to her screen, Phoenix hovered the mouse over the sidebar that labeled the different boxes with ones labeled like “Inbox” and “Sent” along with so many others. “Right… wait, I misclicked”, he spoke out when he selected the ‘Trash’ tab accidentally as the tab listed a series of emails from different users. However, upon closer inspection, his eyes squinted to see one particular email that stood out. 

Once he clicked into it, he scanned over the replies. At first, as he believed, the person that requested seemed very polite and respectful. But as he scrolled down, their replies began to seem increasingly impatient, even aggressive, as more and more began to riot at Maya for not responding to them. Calling her names, wild accusations, swearing, as the more recent emails began to be stated all in caps. _This is ridiculous_ , he thought and decided to check the date of the last reply, _3 days ago?_ “Hey, uh, what’s with this request? There’s a bunch of replies under this address.”

The blogger’s shoulders became tense as she let out a small peep. She cleared her throat and tried to grin. “Oh yeah. This huge fan asked us if we could do a theory on Beetle Bug’s and Kuro Neko’s identities for a while back”, she tried to smile through but slowly, her smile became a frown as she knew very well she couldn’t hide her true emotions, “There are people who say, _‘oh, can you do a theory on Akumas?’_ or _‘can you do a compilation on all the times Beetle unleashed the magical ladybugs?’_ , but I’m not sure about this one.”

Concerned of how upset she seemed, he eyed Mia, who was also listening in to this conversation, and from her subtle but deep expression, he could tell that this email spiked their interest for sake of the Miraculous. He pondered, _what would Mia do?_ Gently, he asked, “Well, what do you think?”

Maya laid back on the chair while she let out a slow exhale, wondering how to explain it. “I mean, that idea sounds really good! We get to know the people behind the mask who have saved us for so long! But...”, she paused, her lips tight to construct her words to express her opinion, “I don’t know. I just think that maybe we are getting into their personal space.”

The artist scratched his head, thinking through the situation. _(This could be bad. If she_ **_does_ ** _go along with this, anyone could use that information. Including Dark Moth.)_ But how would he explain anything without saying, " _Hey, I’m Beetle Bug and your sister is a Miraculous Guardian and if you do this theory, we’re screwed"_. 

He took a deep inhale and started his path of action. “Um, well, I can see what the problem is here. Why don’t we think this through? Let’s say you _are_ a superhero, would you want anyone to know your real identity?”

She raised her left eyebrow. “Well, I want to protect the ones I love, so I want it to be a secret. Maybe I’ll show it to Mia, you, or some close friends, but I want to keep it to myself as long as I can”, she blinked at the realization and rubbed her temple from under her bangs. “I guess with that, I’m sure Beetle Bug and Kuro Neko won’t want anyone to know either. It’s plain logic.”

He nodded, silently relieved that he was able to deliver some sense. “Right. Maybe you can explain to them the same way you just did for me.”

Maya inhaled and sprang back into her usual cheery self. “Alright!”, she turned back into her laptop and started to draft her reply. “Thanks, Nick, that really helped.”

“No problem. I guess you can say I’m always _Wright_ ”, he gave a smug face when he pulled off the pun of his surname.

She jumped off her stool and grabbed a nearby couch pillow just to give a few smacks to Phoenix. “Shut up! Was that a take back from last time?”

“Yup!”, he confessed and stuck his tongue out, priding on his comeback. Mia even chuckled at this.

“I shall take my _revenge_!”, she pillow smacked him a couple more times as the three laughed from the sibling competition. She returned the pillow on the couch and sat back on her seat. “C’mon, let's hurry this up. I’m still hungry.”

He looked around the smiling scenery, seeing the joy and laughter sprouting out from Mia and Maya. There were moments like this where he loved the most. Sure, anyone can define them as a group of friends but he thought of them as his sisters. He never really had much of a family other than his two military moms and his Abuelita. But ever since he applied to Ivy, he had to move away from the suburban hometown to the grand city. Of course, being in a new setting seemed overwhelming. Until Mia included him in her family. They spent the most time together, either exploring the city or having sleepovers. There were so many memories that he remembered them like photographs.

He remembered how all three of them finally received their pride flags along with other merchandise. Maya wore her lesbian flag as a cape to match Mia wearing both of her transgender and bisexual flags. Even today, he still has his bi button. He remembered all of them going to the beach on a lovely summer day with him getting bonked on the head by a volleyball. He remembered all the pillow fights they had in their blanket fort held in the living room.

He wasn’t alone anymore. He remembered that Mia invited him over to dinner when Lana and Ema Skye were first introduced to everyone. He saw no reason why a _friend_ would be invited into a personal family matter, however, he had gladly accepted the invitation. Although he had come earlier because he had no idea how to tie a tie. Or dress formally at all. In all the ways, he was accepted in a family and he has never been grateful for that.

Right here, at this moment, it felt like home.

Although, being in the middle of a memory flashback, he was zoned out when Mia invited him to join them for dinner. The aroma of fresh spaghetti filled the room, ready to be served.

He slightly jumped when he looked up at the time of his phone and quickly got up from his stool, nearly tripping, to shove his things into his bag. “Oh stars, sorry guys, looks like I have to go. Maggey told me that we have an important meeting at the bakery and you know how I’m always running late.”

“Okay, take care”, Mia gave him her wishes as she followed him to the door. She raised a brow at Phoenix's loose red scarf. “Put your scarf on, it’s starting to get more chilly.” Taking the scarf, she wrapped it around his neck making sure it was tight and comfy. He rolled his eyes sarcastically by her motherly intention.

“Don’t forget about those cookies you promised me!”, Maya called from the kitchen with her head poked out just barely to see them at the doorway.

The artist teased, “Yeah, for that blackhole stomach of yours.”

“At least, you can finish them faster if you used your gelled spiky head as a cookie-cutter”, she jokingly remarked back.

The sisters laughed, recalling an inside joke. It began when their first meeting with Phoenix when they thought his naturally spiky hair was actually gelled. As he would quote, they thought it was unlikely for someone to have “that ridiculous hairstyle”. He frowned at them for remembering but he burst out laughing along with them.

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

The route to the bakery from the Fey’s apartment was simple enough: take 3 stations on the train heading north then 4 stations to the east. A few blocks from the station and, boom, the Byrde Bakery. At least, that was how Phoenix always remembered it ever since he got the job. As he walked down the busy sidewalk, he peered at the horizon. Despite the view being blocked by the fog, he could see the soft blend of colors, full of blues and yellows, mixed perfectly as the day would soon reach its sunset.

Finally coming down to the next several buildings, he came in front of the reddish-brown bricked shop with large black-rimmed windows, displaying platters of pastries, as well as a peek of the interior as the silky curtains were pulled open. Right above the rimmed doorway, the shop’s name was printed in white typewriter-like letters, “Byrde Bakery”. 

A family-owned bakery that Maggey took the tradition to be the owner. She, of course, had to drop out of college to keep the family business but took virtual classes to be a police officer. There were times when she had to attend the academy in person so she entrusted Phoenix to take care of the bakery while she was away. It was simple to know if he was in charge when you could smell the fresh scent of red velvet cake once you entered through the door.

He grabbed the key for the glass door from his pocket to allow himself in the faint smell of baked goods. As the bakery was about to close, it was empty, without customers at least.

Upon entering the shop, he finally found Maggey next to the blacktopped counter with a white and gray marble base, busy organizing some boxes. “Hey Maggey”, he greeted her but stopped when he found someone else with her, carrying some boxes from the kitchen. “Oh Gumshoe, I didn’t know you were here!”

Setting a tall pile of cardboard boxes on the counter, Gumshoe wasn’t the only one surprised by a familiar face. He let out a goofy but joyful grin and greeted back, “Hey pal! I’m just here visiting my wonderful girl!” He wrapped an arm around Maggey, his face full of pride, and gave her a gentle forehead kiss.

She giggled, bashful of her boyfriend, “Oh Richard.”

“I didn’t know you guys were dating, but I’m glad for you both anyway”, he congratulated them before he turned to his boss. “So Maggey, what’s going on?”

Excitedly, she reached for the counter behind her and grabbed a small spiral notebook. “This morning, I just got an order from the general children’s hospital, just a couple of blocks from here.” She flipped a couple of pages and showed her notes of the order in front of them to see. “They’re raising a fundraiser for medical funds, technology advancements, stuff like that. But they made it as a public bake sale. They placed an order for us to make cupcakes, cookies, and other small pastries. We’re going to prepare some samples for them to taste once we have an appointment with the staff. For every pastry being paid for, it goes for the fundraiser.”

“It is great news!”, Gumshoe applauded.

Phoenix agreed, “Wow, that’s huge, even for us. Quite a bake sale.”

Maggey’s eyes shined brighter as she exclaimed, “But that’s not all! Beetle Bug, Kuro Neko, _and_ Jade Shell are going to the bake sale to visit the kids! Those are the ultimate special guests! We are so lucky to be catering at that time! And me, being the unluckiest person alive!”

Wright smiled but then paused when the realization ran over him like a truck. “Um, actually I don’t think I’ll be able to cater on that day”, he gave the excuse. He promised that he was going but as _Beetle Bug,_ not Phoenix Wright. He quickly added, “But, I think my friends can come and volunteer if you want.”

She nodded. “Of course! The more, the merrier! Too bad you won’t be able to be there, is there something going on?”

_Why does hiding your identity have to be so hard?,_ he questioned himself from the stress. “Oh um, I have a dentist appointment and I am a bit behind on schoolwork.”

“That’s completely understandable. Maybe another time”, she shrugged while Phoenix let out a silent exhale of relief.

Gumshoe jumped in from his own excuse, as he was Jade Shell. “Oh, I’m sorry, Maggey. I won’t be able to either. Um, you know how busy it is at the police department and all.”

“Your internship is the most important thing, along with college. It’s alright.” 

“But if I finish early, I’ll come and help as soon as I can”, Richard promised with a huge hug. 

Phoenix smiled. _(From the looks of it, it doesn’t seem that Richard has told her about his identity. Mia did say that he was chosen for the turtle miraculous while Kuro Neko only picked him up when we fought Birthday Boy.)_ He cleared his throat as he came up with an idea. “I know they haven’t ordered this but I think it will be nice if we did some origami figures for the heroes to hand out to the kids.”

“That sounds amazing, pal!”, Gumshoe chuckled.

Maggey clapped in agreement. “That’s perfect! The kids would love that! We can start working on the ideas right now! The bake sale is due next week so we have plenty of time.” 

She walked over and grabbed the craft box from a shelf in the corner, usually storing art supplies for the shop, and brought it back to the counter. They went through the box and prepared the multi-colored construction paper into squares while Maggey jotted down on her notebook about all the types of origami shapes they could do. 

Phoenix picked up a green square and began to cease his first fold until he spotted a dark figure on top of a vintage street lamp outside. “Oh hey, it’s Kuro Neko.”

Sure enough, the cat hero himself, Kuro Neko, was perching on the nearby post as he briefly looked around at his surroundings. Perhaps it was the smell of the delicious cakes or his cat instinct, he unexpectedly turned and spotted the three of them inside the bakery. Maggey pointed out, “He saw us!” The three gave him a friendly wave, joyful to see their local hero in the neighborhood. 

Kuro Neko paused for a second and gave an awkward wave back as he hadn’t expected them to greet him. After that, he got up and jumped into the air.

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

Extending his baton, he leaped himself up to land on a nearby building rooftop from where he saw his friends. "It was pleasant to see Wright again. Didn’t expect him in that bakery though. Richard was even there, too.”

One of the great benefits of wearing a mask is that you don't have to be yourself as a civilian. For him, he didn't have to be Miles Edgeworth, a boy being expected to go beyond what Manfred von Karma has waited for him to be. Not to stress over his studies in the middle of the night or to behave strictly from carrying the von Karma reputation in his name.

Right now, he was merely Kuro Neko, a superhero who watched over Kurain City and a close partner to Beetle Bug. No strings were attached while he wore the mask.

From rooftop to rooftop, he ran across with the breeze flowing in his hair, the sense of returning freedom was coming as he went through the light fog. _(It feels great to be out in the open. Manfred Von Karma is in a meeting all day and ‘Ziska is busy organizing her files. That leaves me here, in a city “stroll”. Well, if you consider jumping around the city as an outside activity.)_ He did find it strange that Manfred hasn’t come out of his office for days, not even for dinner. Eventually, Edgeworth assumed that he was busy and only came out late at night while they were asleep.

After he jumped over at another building, he opened his baton to its phone mode and opened the internet. “Let’s see what news we have today.” Pacing around the pavement, he scrolled through the reports that happened recently, searching more for unsolved criminal activity. 

A new shop opening. 

A train incident with the rescue team led by him, Beetle Bug, and Jade Shell. 

He swiped some more until one particular report stood out from the rest. “A theft, huh?”, he said upon seeing the title. He opened it and the article read, 

_A 6th heist has been struck as the recurring thief strikes once again after its first appearance 3 days ago, stealing an early 1900s jewel, worth 3.5 thousand dollars._

_And once again, the culprit was caught on camera, kidnapping witnesses from the scene, later claimed as missing. Although there were a few recent sightings of the missing victims, ‘none were confirmed’, as the police department states._

_Adding to all these crimes, the culprit has also been vandalizing public murals, that have honored our beloved superheroes, which has now been written on with phrases such as ‘_ **_No Trust in Them!_ ** _’ or ‘_ **_They’re No Heroes_ ** _’. The police investigation is still ongoing...”_

He pondered with curiosity. “Theft, kidnapping, and vandalism? That’s quite a case, at least something worth investigating. These videos may be helpful to analyze for profiling this criminal.” 

Taking the stick, he clicked on the pawprint button and transformed it into a holographic screen with half of the baton on each side. As it floated, he angled it to be 180° from the ground, a table-like way. He took the camera footage and swiped it up into a separate floatable window into the air which worked as a monitor. Once he pressed play on the tiny screen, the main screen constructed a 3D model of the video, projecting what occurred during the theft. 

During the video, he muttered, observing the culprits’ crime, “The way the thief organized the scene: they find what they were looking for and spread its content on a nearby surface, categorizing them by value. A witness comes by and the thief takes them as they flee the scene. Every detail is the same for each heist.” He hovered his gloved finger over his screen to point out the similarities. “That would mean, this was planned carefully and possibly with an accomplice of some kind. It would be impossible for them to act alone. Let’s start profiling on appearance.” Thanks to the advanced technology of the baton, he zoomed into the video and waited for the clearest frame. Once he did, he quickly paused the video and held his breath once he fully analyzed the familiar features of the figure. 

Spiky hair, a polka-dotted suit, and a yoyo?

_(Hold on... it looks awfully like Beetle Bug. But I’m getting a feeling that it’s not him. Why would he do all these crimes? This wouldn’t make sense if it was him. But if this resembles a lot like Beetle…)_ He cleared the screen and reset his stick to its regular form. “I have to warn Beetle Bug.”

The sun was already setting when Kuro Neko somersaulted from rooftop to rooftop. Getting closer to the usual spot, he perched himself on a lamp post and dialed his partner. “Please respond", he silently begged repeatedly for an answer from the other end. 

“Beetle here! Please leave a message and I’ll try to return the call!” _(Voicemail, of course. He wouldn't pick up right now.)_

He urged in his message, “Beetle, a recent investigative case has come out and I have made some discoveries that you should know about. Come to the usual spot as soon as you can.”

**_Clank Clank_ **

“Hey, Kuro Neko.”

The cat hero looked down to see a familiar face who banged on the metal. A certain artist in a blue sweater, actually. “Oh, Phoenix Wright. I beg your pardon, I didn’t see that you were here", he said as he slid down from the post. 

It wasn’t unusual to meet Wright eye to eye. There were some patrol nights when they consequently passed by each other when Phoenix was out on his balcony. They only gave each other quick waves before Kuro Neko had to leave. Although Miles thought it would’ve been nicer if he stopped by to chat but he had duties to perform.

“I was on my way home. I just wanted to drop in and say hi", the artist responded, however, whatever Kuro Neko's face is currently making seemed to fill his eyes with worry. “Is something going on?”

Neko twirled his baton in between his fingers as he glanced around for anyone else on the street. No one, just the two of them. “There’s nothing to worry about. I was out on a stroll. That’s all, Firebird.”

Phoenix's face softened but secretly maintained his worries. “Right. Anyway, while you’re here, I actually have something for you.” He opened the messenger bag he had around his torso and rumbled through his things. “We made a billion of these so I took a few with me.” Gently, he took out what he was searching for.

It was a paper crane, folded from a blue piece of paper and carefully detailed with golden swirls of ink. With delicacy, the hero took the origami from Phoenix onto his own palms. “A paper crane?”

The artist nodded with a smile. “Yup, it’s for the kids in the hospital. Thought it would be nice for them to have.”

“Must’ve taken you a lot of time to work on these", Kuro Neko assumed as he brought it closer to his face to observe the details.

Wright folded his arms. “Nah, they were easy to make. My fingers are just a bit numb from all that folding.”

“Thank you. Although, I wasn’t good at making paper cranes myself back then", Neko commented as he opened his baton into its pouch mode, splitting the metal like a pencil case, and stored the crane for safekeeping.

Phoenix chuckled and teased, “Really? It’s literally the easiest thing to do.” 

Kuro Neko smirked. “For you, most likely. But now these days, I can do it without a doubt.” Sure, he didn't know how to do origami when he was little but he was willing to take the challenge.

“Well, I’d like to see you try.” But Phoenix paused when his hand patted on the side of his bag.

The cat raised a brow. “You don’t have any extra paper, do you?”

The artist's eyes narrowed at him for that true statement but smiled. “One day, I’ll see you try, just not today.” Holding on the sash of his bag, he strolled past the hero and turned to him one last time. “It was nice seeing you again, by the way.”

Kuro Neko gave a bow. “I shall return that sentiment. I appreciate the gift once again. And I’ll keep the challenge in mind.”

Wright kept on his grin. “Bet on that. Bye!” With his farewell, he gave a wave while his red scarf blew in the wind.

Kuro Neko returned it with his small wave but slowly, at this moment, something felt similar. Something that happened a long time ago. With Phoenix Wright.

_"I promise.”_

_That was spoken, from a boy in blue._

_Under the rain, when they first said goodbye._

He pinched the bridge of his nose, his head aching from a blurry memory. He shook his head and headed to the usual spot, just a few buildings away from where he was at. Setting up the baton's screen once more, he rewound the video a couple more times to ensure his notes.

His cat ears perked up to the noise of a yoyo string and a person landing behind him, the sound he knew too well by one spotted hero. Beetle Bug said as he landed, “Heard your message, Neko. What’s going-”

“Answer me this: what did we play yesterday and what score did we get, if any?” Kuro Neko interrogated as he walked over towards him.

Beetle blinked, surprised by what seemed like a random question, but answered, “Oh um, we played _‘Cuphead’_. You were Cuphead and I was Mugman. We were going to Isle 2 but you insisted on getting A’s on all the Isle 1 bosses.”

The cat hero nodded firmly. “Good, that cleared your name”, he guided his partner to the screen setup as he informed, “We have a situation on our hands. A thief has been going around, taking valuable objects, kidnapping any witnesses, and vandalizing any public murals.”

Beetle's face turned serious. “Is there anything else you found?”

Kuro Neko pointed at the floating internet windows, each opened up to a separate video. “Right here. I have been trying to profile the culprit by analyzing the video footage police were able to obtain. The bad news: this is the only frame that’s the clearest.” He played the most recent one and paused on the frame he examined earlier.

Beetle's eyes widened as he caught on to what he was being shown. “That's…”

“Yes, I know. But I also know that it isn’t you”, the cat turned to his partner with genuine in his eyes.

“That’s why you asked me that question? To see if I was the real one?”

“Partly. But look here”, Neko pulled up multiple screenshots from all the videos. The first one he pointed as at the _black_ and red polka-dotted suit. “The colors are way different and right here”, he pointed at an image where the left leg and right hand seemed multicolored, a rather strange rainbow. “It may look like a glitch but it looks more like light reflecting on a piece of glass or something similar.”

"Okay", Beetle took a step back from his partner’s last observation. "That's extremely specific. How in the entire universe did you know that?"

“4th grade, my school’s science fair. My group did a topic about light and I did a 3D model for it.”

“Nerd", Beetle jokingly accused him.

Regardless, the cat paid no attention. “It seems like we have a faker here.”

“And if we don’t find them soon, the police could mistake me for the fake", Beetle added, stating what seemed to be the worst scenario. If Beetle was arrested, who would be able to purify the Akumas? Kuro Neko didn't have such power and even if he tried, the public would turn against them for being a menace, criminals.

“In my opinion, I propose that it’s another akumatized victim.”

“Yeah, there’s nothing normal about this. They could change into someone else from magic", the red bug agreed and that left one doubting question, “But why the kidnapping?”

“Identity change", Kuro Neko responded. “If they have as many faces at their disposal, they can walk around freely in the public eye as someone else. And yet, still be discreet in hoodies and such. It’s most likely why there were many unconfirmed sightings, it was the culprit as an imposter.” The screen beeped, popping up a new notification to a new report. “Another theft?”

As the hero predicted, the thief has struck again. Beetle noted the 3D map of the city, marked with all the places the thief struck, with one red light blinking the green holographic screen, “It’s not far from here, if we hurry, we can catch them.”

“Let’s split up, just in case they decided on a change of course", Kuro Neko proposed as he closed the screens and transformed it back into his stick. Pressing on the pawprint button, the stick popped out an earpiece for him to use.

Beetle placed on his earpiece provided from his yoyo. “Right, head east. I’ll head west.”

They exchanged a nod and split up into different directions. Beetle Bug swung with the elasticity of his yoyo string, letting himself move faster along with the traffic below. After a couple of air flips, he spotted the bright colors of red and blue. As he suspected, down below him was the police force in patrol cars.

“See anything?”

Beetle’s finger pressed on the earpiece with the other hand kept pulling him forward. “Police patrols are heading sector F10. I’m after them.” He shifted the angle of his swing to follow the cars closely as he could.

“I bumped into the scene of the crime. Looks like the culprit left some kind of glass-like mineral. Heading towards the F sectors now”, Kuro Neko informed him over the signal.

“Got it”, Beetle responded as he flipped onto a rooftop and continued on foot from there. But then he paused when he faced a moving shadow a few meters in front of him. “Wait, hold on.” It wasn’t an animal; it was a person. 

The culprit. 

Beetle rushed to his feet and radioed, “I spotted him! After them right now.”

The culprit must’ve sensed the hero’s presence as they began to run even faster and was beginning to zig-zag, trying to lose him. But Beetle continued as he used his yoyo to swing himself closer. Out of nowhere, the culprit dropped themselves into an alleyway. Beetle followed close behind and once he landed, he prepared his yoyo, ready in his attacking stance. But the wide alleyway was quiet and no one was in sight. There was no place to hide, no trash or box to use. Empty. Beetle Bug loosen his defense and cursed, “Damnit, lost their trail.” Right away, he radioed, “Neko, what’s going on on your end?”

No voice was there. Only static.

“Kuro Neko?”, the red hero kept on repeating to the earpiece, increasingly becoming more and more worried. There was no success as static was filled in his ear. “Stars, now I lost him too.” He opened his yoyo to the GPS app which located the tracking devices of each of the miraculous holders. An icon, Kuro Neko’s mark, beeped close by. His heart stopped though. 

His partner was a meter away from him. “Wait, but he’s-”

“Well well, look who we have here?”

Beetle Bug abruptly turned around to face… his partner? He shook his head. No, it was Kuro Neko but he was captured, his hands tied up with rope behind his back, and dragged by a woman in red curly hair with a white beret, the imposter. Beetle called out, “Kuro Neko-”

He was interrupted however when the sight of a sharp blade held by the impersonator, made out of glass fragments, came into view. They stated in such an innocent voice that seemed fake, “You know, it wasn’t easy to separate the two of you. I knew one of these days, you’ll start working with the police to try to find me.”

Kuro Neko kept his head low, full of shame and guilt. “Apologies, my lucky bug. I should’ve known better.”

Beetle’s blue eyes softened for his partner. Neko looked as if he was waiting for a scolding rant and he deserved the punishment. That broke his heart. “It’s not your fault.” He then stared at the imposter, his fury shown on his face, and yet calmly, he asked, “Who are you?”

The imposter crackled, twirling the handle of their blade in their left hand while the right restrained Neko. “Me? I can be anyone I want, as long as I can look at them.” The imposter continued with a sarcastic sigh. “But if you want a name, then I’m Mirror Mirror. Dark Moth has made a deal with me: he has provided me with my powers for me to take my revenge and in return, I get your miraculous.” 

The twirling stopped and instead, they brought the edge of the blade near Kuro Neko’s neck, inching itself closer and closer to his skin. Their wicked grin widened, apart from their gentle face. “Seems pretty easy, don’t you think?”

“Don’t hurt him!”, Beetle called out with a hand out to stop them.

“ _I_ hurt him?”, the imposter repeated and let out a laugh, still holding the blade close. “I couldn’t. No”, the imposter’s face turned serious before they flashed into a bright light, their figure changing shape. Transforming into… Beetle Bug? “ _you_ would hurt him.” A chill was sent down Beetle’s spine as it was his voice being used, to see a reflection of himself threatening his partner. 

_What do I do?_ his mind asked with panic rising in his lungs. Beetle quickly placed his hands up in surrender. “Alright alright, I'll do what you ask. But I have one thing to say before I do anything else,” with his hands still raised, he said one word, “Checkmate.”

Kuro Neko blinked. ( _Checkmate, our code word for…)_

Mirror Mirror huffed, “What are you saying-”

Before they could finish, Kuro Neko stepped on their foot, causing them to yell in pain. They let go of the rope the cat was tied up, loose enough to set him free. Mirror Mirror reached out to grab him but was hit as Kuro Neko performed a reverse roundhouse kick, striking them in the head. Neko has recalled their codeword for a defense mechanism thanks to Beetle Bug teaching him his fighting skills.

They collapse onto the ground but dashed for the blade that they dropped. Beetle Bug was faster and tackled the akumatized onto the ground, the faker’s yoyo thrown off their waist. Mirror Mirror pushed him off them and raced towards the blade once more. With his yoyo, Beetle tangled Mirror Mirror up and jumped towards them before giving a cartwheel kick.

Frustrated, Mirror Mirror yanked themselves free from the string, throwing the yoyo away from Beetle.

And now, it was a physical fight between two Beetle Bug's.

One pushed themselves from the ground and gave the other with a dropkick, hitting them against the concrete. The other got up and gave hard blows to the face, punching from left to right. The one being punched stopped a fist from mid-punch and twisted it as the other cried out in pain and then did a tornado kick with a starting jump.

One being kicked landed on their knees but was able to a low wheel kick, knocking the other off their feet, and then they scrambled to pin them down, ready to give another direct punch.

“Hold it!” 

Both paused to look up at Kuro Neko who held the glass blade in his hands, ready to strike either of them. Kuro Neko gulped deeply at the identicals. _(I will have to resort to my Cataclysm if I have to. My partner would have told me to save it at a better time but he trusts me to use it.)_ He moved the blade in an upwards direction, signaling them to part and stand up. The one that was pinning the other parted into his right, dusting off the dirt from their suit. The one that was pinned from the ground went to the left and did a head scratch.

The Beetle on his right spoke first, “Thank the stars, I was about to be completely cornered if you didn’t stop it.”

“Kuro Neko, it’s me. I’m the real Beetle Bug”, the one on the left said.

The right one accused the left one, “Liar! Neko, it’s _me_.”

“Enough", Kuro Neko stopped their back and forth. He pointed the blade at the two of them, all three a couple of meters apart from each other. "I at least know that one of you is my true partner. And the other is an akumatized fraud. Now, it’s the question of who is who.”

A moment of silence swifts by, unsure how to proceed. The left one gave out his suggestion, “Why don’t you ask us something? If you ask a specific question, then the only one who knows the answer is the real one.”

Kuro Neko's mind went through the idea as he thought, _They’re right, I can ask any question and the real one knows the answer. However, it was said from Gumshoe that the victims can hear Dark Moth’s voice. Does that mean that he can hear us as well? Or even see us through the eyes of the akumatized? We have to assume all possibilities, as Beetle Bug would say, so we have to choose our questions carefully._ He gave a profound breath and asked, “The metro incident, from early this morning, how did we rescue the passengers?”

The left on started, “We-”

“A subway metro train fell off the rails, with the two front cars hanging in the air and over traffic", the right one interrupted the other, "Jade Shell used his power to carry large amounts of passengers with my yoyo as a pulley and you transferred anyone who was injured by carrying them yourself with your stick. No casualties, but 13 people were injured, 9 of them were minor.”

The left one could only curl up, his stance tightened with defeat.

The cat hero snarled. _(Of course, the whole city knows because of that news report. If the akumatized wanted to be a good impersonator, they had to know about any incidents related to us. We have to narrow it down a bit.)_ “What was Soul Threader’s akumatized object?”

The left one answered this time, “We first thought it was her needle but it turned out to be her scissors since you told me that you already broke the first assumption.”

“Hey, I know that too!”, the right one called out but was silenced by Kuro Neko's darkening glare.

Overwhelmed, he gripped on the handle of the blade, rethinking his line of questioning. _(They knew very specific details about our battles. The only way they could’ve known that is either A. was a witness in that incident, whether as a civilian or superhero, or B. is a huge fan of the MiracleBlog, as they have visibly covered our fights on video and is the most probable reason..._ **_Visibly_ ** _, that’s it!)_

Slowly, he approached the left one first, making sure the other couldn't hear, and stopped when the tip of the blade was right near to the tip of their nose. _(A risk, but as Beetle would say, it’s something we have to take.)_ Holding his breath, he asked, “When we fought Dream Dreader, what happened in the fog?”

The left one widened their eyes, taken by the question, and looked down to their feet as they responded, “We… we got separated and then we got absorbed in our nightmares. After I experienced mine, I used my Lucky Charm, a flashlight, to find you. And I did. I found you in tears. I didn’t care if I was weak or had cuts, you seemed more hurt than I was. After the battle, we decided to talk about our dreams. And there we were, in the Grand park.”

They looked at the hero directly with softness. “You allowed yourself to go first. You were convinced that you killed your own family, from your faint memories of an earthquake and a fire. You were the only one that survived, and that brought nothing but guilt and trauma from what you have been through, which caused your nightmare.” 

“What are you guys talking about over there that it is taking so long? You should back away, Kuro Neko", the right one, unable to listen in, only rambled about the time.

“It wasn’t your fault, Kuro Neko", the left one's eyes brightened with sympathy. “I told you that I believed in your innocence and I continue to do so. I know that you wouldn’t dare hurt anyone that you care so much for. I know because I believe in you. Because I know who my real partner is.”

Impatient, the right one called out, “They’re trying to manipulate you! You know deep down that it’s me! Don’t listen to them, I’m the real-”

Kuro Neko slammed the blade onto the ground, smashing the glass into a million pieces, and then threw his baton at them, which bounced back to him upon the impact of the other’s face. They clashed backward on the ground, revealing that they were the imposter.

The real Beetle Bug looked back to his partner from the move, astonished by the result. “You knew?”

Kur Neko handed his partner the real yoyo back to him as he explained, “I suspected in the beginning. When you both fought, you resorted a lot to your drop kick and cartwheel kick, frequent moves that you used whenever we fought. When you both parted, the first thing you did was head scratch, a habit of yours. Once Mirror Mirror tried to persuade me to 'finish it up', I knew you wouldn’t rush anything until we absolutely know where the Akuma is hiding, which left you as the only possibility of being the real Beetle Bug.”

Beetle Bug smiled but then, Mirror Mirror, still being projected as the spotted hero, growled at them, ready in their striking stance. 

Beetle asked, "Are you ready?"

The cat hero nodded, "Ready as I'll ever be." He flipped his stick into the air, just behind the akumatized.

Beetle threw his yoyo with exact precision on hitting the stick's button, sending the stick to extend and hit the back of the imposter's head. But something new reacted. Once the hit came, the imposter cried out with dark electrifying energy flowing around them, breaking them onto their knees.

“Woah. What was that?", Beetle asked Kuro Neko as the stick came back to the cat hero.

Kuro Neko could only look at his hands to see the same energy flowing around them. It wasn't a Cataclysm as it needed a verbal command to activate it. This felt more powerful, more than a simple act of destruction. He confessed, "I have no clue.”

"Honey, run as fast as you can."

A gentle voice from a woman in leather, her warning driving him to flee. He could only scram behind a wall to hear a darker voice,

"You think you can protect the Guardian? You are nothing but cornered."

But that gentle voice responded, her tone feeling determined and yet terrified at the same time, "You will never get the Miraculous!"

Then, she cried out in a scream, full of pain and agony. There was a white flash and then darkness. Only silence…

Kuro Neko blinked from a faded memory, it felt so clear, and yet he couldn't remember it at all. But he sensed one thing: the same energy from that memory was here in his very hands.

A distorted laugh rose from the other side where Mirror Mirror fell, a mixture of sound from glitches and mixed up tuning. They stood up but not as Beetle anymore, but rather a distorted image of the red hero with some of its limbs being replaced by holographic globs. “You think you can defeat me?! I can be anyone I see!”

“One thing you are forgetting is that you are a fake, a facade. A mirror that can break its reflection by destroying itself into shards”, Neko corrected them as he twirled his baton.

They snarled and pointed at the cat's partner. “And you, you are nothing without your cat.”

“Kuro Neko and I are a team! If you take me on," the red bug fist-bumped his partner, “you take on Kuro Neko too.”

Another distorted crackle. “You are such idiots, thinking you can defeat me. I can turn into anything and anyone I want.” Another flash was made and Mirror Mirror reset the transformation back to Beetle Bug, only this time, a few glitches were shown. “Mirror Mirror in this fight, who will be the true one in these heroes?”

Beetle winded up his yoyo. “Time to shatter this reflection.”

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

**“Lucky Charm!”**

With the flick of his wrist, his yoyo was launched into the air as magic ladybugs swirled above it, constructing the object needed for the task.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

A polka-dotted sheet of stickers came right down into his hands, the stickers being an assortment of colorful stars and smiley faces. Beetle felt betrayed by the Lucky Charm's ability, “Could I have something more defensive, like a shield or something?”

More distorted laughter was raised from Mirror Mirror. “You expect some _sticker sheets_ to save you? Pathetic.”

Beetle, still holding by the object, decided to search around for clues.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

His yoyo

Kuro Neko

Nearby cardboard boxes

Sticker sheet

Glass shards

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

Beetle Bug smiled determinedly. “Looks like I can.” He picked up the broken shards from the ground and dumped them into one of the large cardboard boxes behind him as well as the sticker sheet. He gave the box to Neko as he silently instructed, “Have this. Meet you in Grand Park.”

The cat nodded in comprehension. “Got it.”

“Hey, Mirror Mirror! Let’s see how real you really are", Beetle Bug taunted the impersonator before zipping in the different direction that Kuro Neko was heading, enough for the distraction.

“Wait, come back here! I’m not done with you”, the Mirror Mirror yelled back as he followed the hero closely.

With one free hand, Beetle radioed through the earpiece he still had on, “Alright Kuro, I’m going to need you to cut out pieces of you and me as silhouettes. Put your stick on yours and set it the continuous shooting in the settings, flash on. Still got the glass shards?”

“Yes. I have them here.”

Swing into an abrupt corner, Beetle continued, “Put some pieces around your stick.”

“Got it. I can activate the continuous shooting manually through our earpieces.”

“Perfect", he said as he could hear the imposter catching up to him. “Okay, be ready. Heading your way.” He glanced over the sky as it turned dark. _(If the night and the fog stay, we can use it to our advantage...)_

He launched himself into a grand air flip and landed on his location, the center of Grand Park. He stood up to face Mirror Mirror as Kuro Neko came with a large energy generator being rolled on wheels, its cables stretched out from many directions.

Finally, Mirror Mirror landed as well. They warned, “This is no stroll in the park, Beetle Bug. You and Kuro Neko should surrender for your defeat.”

The cat smirked. “We still have a few moves left.”

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

**“Cataclysm”**

Black energy whirled around his single fist, bubbling for destruction.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

He struck the machine in front of him, turning it into ash and dust. Suddenly, the park's lamp posts frizzled out, shutting down the lights and leaving them into darkness in the fog.

Mirror Mirror huffed, “So, you hide and seek in the dark? Cowards!”

However, the world around them was pitch black and on top of it all, the fog made it harder to see. 

**_Rustle Rustle_ **

The akumatized frantically turned to their left where the noise of the nearby bushes was made.

Nothing was there.

Another sound, which he turned once again only to spot nothing. Paranoia and frustration began to show in their heavy breaths.

Then, from the corner of their eye, he spotted a shadow of Beetle Bug. They tipped toed towards it until they called out, “Got you now!”

But before the transformation could begin, huge flashes rapidly had gone off, blinding Mirror Mirror from seeing the figure. Except for something red and spotted. “I may be blinded by you but I can still transform.” Their eyes targeted at the pattern, reforming into a new figure...

Into a sheet of stickers, falling into the ground as the flashing flights stopped.

Two figures approached over the sticker sheet. One of them turned on a common flashlight, blinding the akumatized some more.

Beetle Bug's voice was heard, “I didn’t know you wanted to be a sticker.” He kneeled and picked up the sheet. 

Just as the pair had planned, Mirror Mirror turned themselves into a holographic sticker on the Lucky Charm, currently trapped on the sheet. On the bottom right-hand corner, there was a polka-dotted circular sticker with a green heart in the middle, which appeared to be a key charm. “And there’s the object.” Beetle Bug peeled the sticker out and ripped it, letting out the Akuma that they were looking for.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

Beetle opened his yoyo into purification mode with the swipe of his finger and swung in circles, 

**“No more evil-doing for you, little Akuma... Time to De-evilize!”**

With the swipe of his yoyo, he brought the captured Akuma back in the palm of his hand,

“ **Gotcha!** ” 

Pressing the middle spot, the yoyo opened to release the now purified butterfly,

“ **Bye-bye, little butterfly.** ”

Finally, he launched his lucky charm into the air to repair the damage that has been done,

“ **Miraculous Beetle Bug!** ”

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

Magical ladybugs swirled around the city, repairing the damage and returning what was stolen, both the priceless artifacts and the kidnapped victims, all in their proper places. The ladybugs came back, restoring the lighting from the lamppost and finally, around the akumatized.

The person rubbed their forehead, dazed from the Akuma until their eyes darted up to see the heroes. “You…” Their body shook, they set a single glance at the two. Concerned, Beetle stepped forward to offer help. But instead, they blurted out, full of rage, “You ruined everything!”

The person nearly jumped on the spotted hero, ready to punch with their fists, but Kuro Neko caught them and restrained them from making a move. “Woah, hang on.”

Startled, Beetle waved his hands, gesturing to calm down.“Please, we can talk this out-”

“I used to be your greatest fan!", they broke free from being restrained and pointed menacingly. "I admired everything that you did, but because of that damn blogger, Maya Fey, I finally opened my naive eyes and I realized that we can’t trust you! You all are complete strangers and we are supposed to rely our lives on you?”, they growled as they folded their arms. “Pfft, when we can’t rely on the law and order of our city, what difference does it make when we rely on you?”

“It’s because we try. Even if we can’t make every miracle, we at least try to give a helping hand," Kuro Neko contradicted them with an arm shielding his partner while he stood tall in between the two.

They let out a laugh as if it was the most ridiculous thing ever said but frowned quickly. “What difference does it make if I get rid of you-” They charged forward with a fist held high but then a snap of handcuffs pulled them back.

“Alright, you’re under arrest. We are taking you in for questioning.” A police officer placed the handcuffs around the fists behind their back, a lucky save. The officer took the person in handcuffs where the other patrol cars awaited.

“One day, I get you! I’ll find out who you really are!”, the person yelled out while being dragged and it stopped as they were put in the car.

As the patrol cars zoomed off, Beetle Bug turned to Kuro Neko. “Well, that was unexpecting", he reacted, unsure whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.

“One of too many for today", Kuro Neko responded. The first was that their investigation of a crime led them to save an akumatized victim. 

_Scratch that._

It was an akumatized _villain_ as they did have full control of what they did. But the two of them save the akumatized, nevertheless. 

The second most unexpecting was Kuro Neko's strange new power. The only thing that could conclude was that the power somehow messed up the akumatized victim’s power, a sort of _corruption_. He continued, “We both know we can’t risk our miraculous. We just have to make sure we can’t let the dark side win and get away with it.”

Beetle Bug nervously chuckled as he folded his arms. “Haha. At this point, might as well make an oath about it.” He shrugged as he said, “But yeah, I wasn’t going to give mine away, I was buying time to make up a plan.”

Kuro Neko leaned on his stick like a walking stick. “One of the things that I admire about you: it takes you a few seconds to come up with a plan. Even if it’s brief, you always find a way.”

They both held their fists up for their victory fistbump but,

**_GROWL_ **

A rather loud rumble interrupted the moment but it didn’t come from an animal. It came from Kuro Neko’s stomach. The cat quickly held his stomach tightly as his cheeks burned from embarrassment. 

“Pfft-” The spotted hero nearly exploded in laughter but held it in seeing Neko’s offended glare. “Sorry, sorry, I just didn’t expect that from you.”

Kuro Neko’s eyes turned more stern. “And what of it?”

Beetle nervously chuckled as he explained, “It’s patrol time and it’s”, he opened his yoyo and showed the time on his screen, “exactly 10 o’clock. It’s that late and you haven’t eaten anything.” He pulled a childish grin, tempting to lighten the mood, but even Kuro Neko’s cat ears drooped from being annoyed. “Alright alright. Let’s do our rounds and meet up at our spot.”

The cat rolled his eyes, accepting his partner’s words. “As usual, game night.” They both held their fists up again.

**“Pound it!”** , they said in unison.

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

The midnight silence roamed against the walls of the lair as the pure butterflies fluttered lightly as they got ready for their slumber. Dark Moth stood tall as he went over the fight.

“This was the most successful prey I have ever akumatized. If it weren’t for you stopping me, Beetle Bug and Kuro Neko, I would’ve achieved the Ultimate Wish. Mirror mirror in the sky, who will protect the powers of life and death, creation and destruction, now?”

He laughed wickedly as the window shut itself into the darkness, briefly seeing the reflective moon fading in from the fog...

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

The fog has settled down, allowing the sky to be clear on this pleasant evening. Nothing more than the city buildings’ radiance, full of orange artificial lights mixed with the purple sky. It was sights like this when Kuro Neko enjoyed the most. Well, second best. There was a better city sight that he enjoyed before he headed home…

He opened his baton into phone mode, checking the time. _(Beetle should’ve been here half an hour ago. I wonder what’s keeping him busy?)_ It, however, didn’t last long as he heard the similar reeling sound of a yoyo string. He turned to his right where his partner stood, holding his hands behind his back. “Evening, Beetle Bug. Did something happen during your round?”

Beetle Bug shook his head. “Hmmm, nope! It’s because I got us dinner!” From behind his back, he revealed a takeout bag with two medium-sized Styrofoam boxes inside, fresh and warm.

“Take out?”

Beetle shrugged, walked over to the stone bench to set the bag down, and picked out a box from it to see which box was for who. “You told me that you didn’t get a chance to eat so I brought us food.”

Kuro Neko stood up from the ledge to join him with his ears slightly tilted from disbelief. “Stars, Beetle. I don’t eat take out.”

“Come on, have you never eaten take out before or something?”, Beetle taunted the cat with a smirk as he handed the correct box to him.

“Rarely, unless in special circumstances that I have to resort into... that”, he said taking his spot on the bench. “I would have preferred homemade food, done properly right.”

Beetle sat next to him and opened his box. His box was filled with portions of orange chicken, noodles, and steamed broccoli. He said, “Well, these are ‘special circumstances’. You’re on patrol and haven’t eaten real dinner yet. Besides, I don’t think your folks would’ve liked you to be sneaking in the kitchen when you come back.”

“Well, no-”

“Then, it’s settled! And besides, my treat”, Beetle handed him a packet of plastic cutlery and laughed to himself. “Wow, when was the last time I said that?” _(After all the times Maya begged me to buy her food and the death of my wallet, I never treated anyone to dinner.)_

Kuro Neko frowned, a bit uncomfortable with the situation. He sighed and opened his box. Unlike Beetle’s box, Kuro Neko’s box was filled with white rice, sliced grilled chicken, and lettuce, each portion divided perfectly into thirds. It was simple, as any take out would be. As much as he wanted to protest, his stomach was already dragged in by the aroma. “If you say so…”, he gave in as he scooped up some bits with his fork. 

Once the food met his tongue, his eyes widened. Perhaps it may be the need for food or the loss of energy, it made him want to grab another bite. “Surprisingly, this is exceptionally good.”

  
  


Beetle nodded in agreement as he went for another forkful of noodles. “Of course! I know the best restaurant throughout the whole city and I come there a lot. There’s also a great bakery next to it that has really good desserts, red velvet cake being their specialty.” _(And I should know. I was in charge of making red velvet pastries.)_

“Interesting. I’ll check it out if I get a chance.”

“Man, you really should explore the city more”, Beetle Bug suggested, confused how Kuro Neko wouldn’t know much of the city that they kept on saving. Beetle Bug placed his box to the side and asked, “Ready to play?”

Kuro Neko paused from forking in his rice. “What kind of person eats while they play video games?”

“There are people, like me. Besides, scaredy-cat, you’re afraid that I’ll beat you this time, aren’t you?”

The cat smirked as he gave his baton to his partner and continued eating. “Ha, destroy my win streak? As if! Bring it on.”

“Okay, but this time, we’re playing Mario Kart!”, Beetle said.

Continuing finishing his box, he raised a brow. “ _Oh_ , the game that you always lose? A challenge, I see.”

“Alright then, you should eat while I set it up”, Beetle said. He stood up and settled Kuro Neko’s baton into the holographic screen. He then tilted the screen like it was a television. But then, a notification popped up, labeling “ _New video announcement from the MiracleBlog”_. “The MiracleBlog?”

The cat looked up from his box with his cat ears perked up. “Ms. Fey? What did she do?”

Beetle clicked on the notification, sending him straight into the blog’s site and showed the recent media feed. From what he gathered from the video thumbnail, it didn’t look like any of her other videos. Instead of the professionally edited pictures, this one only showed Maya sitting on her desk, her face looking directly towards the camera. “Seems to be a video.”

He pressed play and stepped a few feet back for his partner to see as well. Maya appeared in her desk, just like on the thumbnail, and said in her cheerful self, “Hello fellow peeps of the internet! Today’s video, as the title may suggest, is a little different than my usual uploads. Recently, our heroes have fought bravely through the hardships of the Akuma Attacks. Many have testified how they were saved by our superhero team of justice. We all want to know who exactly are these warriors under their masks, to thank them for their service.”

Her face looked excited, even hopeful, but her expression fell into seriousness as she continued, “But, as much as we want to know, we shouldn’t. They are people, just like us. They have normal lives: they have jobs or even schools, they have families and friends that they hang out with, places they like to have fun. They are no different than us. Therefore, they deserve respect and privacy. They have done so much for us, inspire us to be heroes ourselves, even without superpowers. And yet, we would betray them if we revealed their identities. That would make us no better than Dark Moth himself.” She fell silent, possibly imagining the disappointment of the audience watching. 

She took a deep breath with a touch of determination. “Instead, the best that we can do to support them is to place our trust in them while minding their boundaries as well. We can help them by being brave against Dark Moth and stick together as one to defeat him. We can be heroes too.” She ended with a smile, small but meaningful.

She cleared her throat and brought back her uplifting personality. “Adding to this announcement, I’m starting a podcast in the blog called _‘Heroes of the Neighborhood’_ , which features all of the people who make a difference to the city, just like our Miraculers. And yes, I named their team members Miraculers. This Maya Fey and this was the MiracleBlog.” She waved at the camera and the video ended, just like that as the pair only silently stared at the screen.

Kuro Neko broke through the silence, “I suppose we owe her great gratitude. In some way, she saved us.”

Beetle Bug agreed as he went back to the bench, “She really did. Sometimes, we need people like her. Even without superpowers, they can make a huge difference. This helps us in the process because we show them a chance, a chance to bring hope.”

“Saying it that way, it sounds like a dream”, Kuro Neko said as his partner split yoyo in half, converting them into game controllers, and gave one to him. 

Beetle Bug corrected him, “One day, we’ll make it into a reality.”

The one thing Kuro Neko has learned as Miles Edgeworth was that dreaming was childish and for desperate people. As Manfred von Karma would always remind him and Franziska, dreaming is a waste of time, ridiculous to go after your imagination. Events happen by facts, as he would state, and if something happens, it’s because the statistics are there and there is a reason behind it. 

Event B happened because Event A happened, 

and Event C happened because Event B happened.

Life was put under a formula. If you are born in a rich class, you’ll grow up rich. If you are sick with a slim chance of surviving, you’ll likely die. If you sacrificed most of your chess pieces in a game, you would lose. Everything was in a one-way direction, a straight line.

At least, that’s what Manfred von Karma taught him.

But here, as Kuro Neko. 

Here, listening to Beetle Bug’s words.

Here, at this moment, something felt rather off, a contradiction in his learning. It was logic for a cause and effect to happen, that was true. But to believe in something, even if it was impossible, felt right. Human even. To have a dream, something to work for every day, something worth accomplishing, is an extraordinary act of motivation.

He thought back to their previous fights, how they were cornered in a dead end. They could’ve lost, they could’ve gotten their miraculous taken away, a victory to the dark side.

But they didn’t because Beetle Bug always found a way out, even under the worst circumstances. It seemed impossible, at most unlikely. Even so, Beetle was able to accomplish it.

Because Beetle Bug believed in the possibilities.

_Perhaps, believing isn’t that bad_ , Kuro Neko thought. At least, it was something to learn. As the night rests with the superhero pair battling each other in their video games, full of victory dances and tense comebacks, they will never foresee the greatest challenge yet as they will have to risk everything in their lives, including their identities...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Episode: Turnabout Live
> 
> Thank you all so much for enjoying this series. I placed my heart and soul into this AU. As an apology gift for taking so long, Turnabout Live will be posted tomorrow (or Sunday, for anyone reading it on another day). I will also be posting The Timed Turnabout by the end of this month so expect that to be soon.
> 
> Fee free to leave a comment and check out my LinkTree for the Season 1 AU guide and my social media where I post art! Have a great week and stay Miraculous!


	9. Turnabout Live

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coming to you live in Kurain City, we introduce Beetle Bug and Kuro Neko for an exclusive interview for the host of the newest show, Rea Porter! However, will the Sunway of Suspense will raise the tension of our heroes? Or will the chilling trills will freeze them in their spot? Stay tuned tonight as our heroes will fight together to take over the new ruler of broadcasting television...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Sorry for posting this late) Enjoy this month's edition of Miraculous Turnabout with a bit of fanservice of our boys :3 (and yes, this is technically the actual Prime Queen episode, with the same akumatized victim's name, but I added some stuff)

A pleasant early evening in Kurain City, where the sky twinkles with its stars and the soft wind of mid-autumn flows in the air. However, this night wasn't like any other as many civilians began to tune in to the premiere of a new celebrity talk show, featuring Beetle Bug and Kuro Neko as special guests.

The hype wasn't only in the viewing audience but in the broadcasting studios of Channel 25 as well. The staff inside the halls of the channel building ran up and down, ensuring all procedures to run smoothly. 

It didn't help as one of the guests of honor was waiting in the hallway for his spotted partner to show up. Kuro Neko was already familiar with television as he went to some interviews for Manfred von Karma back in Germany, always talking about being the best prosecutor in Europe at the time and such. He didn’t have much joy in them as he could’ve been doing other things. But that was when he was Miles Edgeworth as for now, he's Kuro Neko.

While his back leaned on the hallway wall, he glanced around for another check.  _ No Beetle Bug in sight. _ The clock ticked,

**_5:36 PM_ **

He sighed as his gloved hand rubbed against his temple. “Out of all the times to be late.”

He supposed that he would come earlier for the sake of being on time and yet, here he was, waiting for a few hours to see if the spotted hero would ever show up. It didn’t happen this morning when he and the rest of the superhero team went to visit the kids in a local children’s hospital during a bake sale fundraiser. A young lady with round glasses offered them origami figures for them to pass out to the kids if they wanted to. 

He, of course, had prior knowledge of this from Phoenix when he was gifted with the blue paper crane. Surprisingly, Wright himself wasn’t there at the bake sale to help cater, only some members of the MiracleBlog showed up to volunteer. He only assumed the artist was busy on something.

A familiar voice rose from a group of people coming down the hall. “I’m alright, thank you.”

Kuro Neko stood up straighter, turned towards the group, and recognized immediately the boy in the infamous spotted suit. He placed his hands on his hip and greeted, "Long at last, Beetle Bug. I was starting to think that you weren’t going to show up.”

Beetle, finally separated from the staff, exhaled from the overwhelming attention. “Well, I  _ was _ the one who insisted on accepting the offer", Beetle added with his dorky head scratch.

Kuro Neko offered the way to the staircase door with his hand and asked, “Shall we go?” Beetle nodded and they walked down the hallway side by side. With his hands behind his back, Neko commented, “I have to hand it to you: I’m thinking this isn’t such a good idea.”

Beetle's eyebrows lifted. “Well, what’s on your mind?”

As they turned around the corner and into the staircase hall, Kuro Neko explained, “The producers could ask us any question, personal or not. And if the city’s watching, it could be assumed that Dark Moth would be watching us as well.”

Beetle Bug nodded as they passed through a flight of stairs. “I see, and I completely agree. It’s a risk but think about it this way: we can convince the public that there’s nothing to be feared because we can defeat Dark Moth. We can put hope to the people. That way, we can reduce the attacks and they can have more faith in us.” His confident smile was placed on as Beetle Bug opened the staircase door into another floor.

Kuro Neko remained quiet, deeply thinking of his partner's response, until he took a deep breath. “I’ll go along with this, as long as we don’t reveal anything personal.”

Beetle gave him some finger guns. “Totally. We’ll keep it vague.”

After finding the right studio number, they entered to see dozens of employees, scrambling to make adjustments on the equipment and sets. Cameras were moved in their positions and lighting was angled. They slithered around the staff, not wanting to be a bother, then a staff member paused to see the newcomers. He walked towards them in a mix of both excitement and relief on his face. “Oh, both of you arrived! We’re currently on commercial break. Please, right this way.”

“Thank you", Beetle Bug said as the pair followed the staff member to the stage. He offered them to take a seat on the white couch and handed them a thin packet of paper to each of them. “Now, here’s a list of the rules that the producers want the guests to follow.”

Beetle Bug and Kuro Neko nodded in appreciation. Beetle said, “We’ll try, thanks.” Satisfied with that answer, the staff member typed something down in his iPad and went back into the equipment chaos. When Beetle looked down in his packet, the font size was so small that he needed to squint to see the words, despite him having great vision. The font size was so small that he was sure that a million rules could’ve fitted in this 3 paged packet. He gulped. _ (Oh stars…) _

“Well, what do we have here? Beetle Bug and Kuro Neko", the voice interrupted his thoughts. The pair glanced above to see a young woman with short bobbed hair, colored in deep lavender and was wearing a navy blue suit, the interviewer.

The cat was the one who briefly stood up first and offered a professional handshake. “It’s a pleasure to be here.”

“Thank you for letting us on this show’s premiere", Beetle followed the salute to the same formality.

She smiled in joy as she took her seat on the couch across from them. “The pleasure is all ours. I’m Rea Porter and I have been looking forward to interviewing you both as I have been working so long to make my own show," she still smiles but muttered nervously under her breath, "Although, that girl from the MiracleBlog has been making everything hard to convince the city to watch the show in the first place.” A beat of silence. She cleared her throat trying not to lose focus. “ _ Anyway _ , is there anything I can get for you?”

Kuro Neko politely shook his head. "We’re alright. Thank you for your hospitality.”

Pulling out a tablet pen from her pocket, she asked, “Any pronouns that I should be aware of? I use  _ she _ and  _ her _ .”

“ _ He _ and  _ him _ are fine", Kuro Neko responded as Rea jotted the notes down on her iPad.

“I use  _ he _ and  _ him _ as well", Beetle answered next before adding, "but  _ they _ and  _ them _ are good too.”

She nodded but paused, pressing on an earpiece on her left ear, and turned towards the second floor of the studio, a dark and closed room. “All clear, Ma’am", she said and then returned to the awaiting heroes, “My producers are going to give me the questions, guide me for the majority of it.”

As she scrolled through her tablet, the pair exchanged a look to remind each other,  _ 'We have to keep it vague.'  _ Several staff members came onto the stage to gather their paper packets and touched-up on last-minute makeup. Although some of the blush powder made the heroes' noses twitched, wanting to sneeze badly but instead, they tried to wave it away. 

Many of the people scattered, setting in on their positions. They only got one chance and one chance only for this show to premiere successfully.

Beetle Bug gulped, trying to swallow his stress.  _ (This is it, it's now or never…)  _ One of the directors signaled, “Listen up, we’re going live in 3… 2..”

With the countdown ending, the cameras are on and the spotlight is shined at them. Now, not only Kurain City or Japanifornia but the whole globe will be viewing this live on television. Now, the world has its eyes on them.

Given another signal, Rea introduced herself to the camera, “Good evening, I’m Rea Porter and this is ‘Face to Face’. For our first edition, I’d like to welcome the super protectors of Kurain City, Beetle Bug and Kuro Neko", the camera angle panned as the superheroes waved at the awaited audience. Rea continued, “Hello, thanks so much for accepting this exclusive interview.”

Beetle offered a smile. “Well, thank you, Rea. We’re honored to be here.”

“As much as the city knows, we have experienced Akuma attacks for a whole year. How is it like to be fighting as superheroes?”, she asked to loosen the stiffness of the interview.

Kuro answered, “It gets challenging from time to time, but together, as a team, we always found a way to solve a problem.”

His spotted partner added, “It can be hard but what matters is to put effort into it. Just as any job any person could have."

Kuro Neko rolled his eyes sarcastically. “Uh huh. It’s more than just any job, Beetle.”

“Well, a bit”, Beetle jokingly clarified, elbowing the cat’s arm. They lightly chuckled like it was their inside joke, only for them to fully understand.

“It’s obvious that you two are very close”, Rea commented. “People know you, but people don’t  _ really _ know you. We see you saving Kurain City but we don’t know anything else about you.”

Kuro Neko stated, “I’m sure there are plenty of questions for us to answer.”

“Well, try to answer to the best of our abilities”, Beetle added.

Rea smiled and opened up the virtual notecards that the producers gave her on her iPad. “To start, it must be difficult with these akumatized villains, huh?”

“Um actually, if I may correct you on that, my partner and I referred to them as akumatized  _ victims _ ”, Beetle Bug told her.

“But don’t they threaten to hurt civilians and destroy our city?”

Kuro Neko explained to the reporter, “One may think so, yes. However, they are unconscious of their actions, as if they were in a coma. They are driven and controlled under Dark Moth. He is a dangerous manipulative person. He would do anything to reach his goal, including taking advantage of people who are in their lowest esteem. Based on the only information about the Akumas themselves, it seems to be attracted to negative emotions to these victims.”

“It can happen to anyone”, his red partner jumped in and advised more to the audience than the reporter, “Which is why we would like to ask the public to please reach out if you need to. Sometimes in life, we need to ask for help, and that’s okay. I know there doesn’t seem to be someone out there to reach to but I promise you, there  _ is _ . Talk to someone that you trust: a parent, legal guardian, a teacher, a friend, anyone who is willing to listen to you and help you.”

“That way, not only you are helping yourself, but you are helping everyone around you by reducing Akuma attacks. It might seem small, but really, you are making a difference”, Neko said.

Rea slightly smiled and nodded. “Absolutely! A special difference in our city! How about we go through a few questions from your biggest fans?”

Beetle replied, “Alright, let’s do it!”

With a single press on her tablet, Rea changed the screen in front of them showing a live feed to a group of people that the pair recognized immediately. It was Maya and her team for the MiracleBlog all sitting together in front of a camera, with the skating arena in Grand Park in the background. They all greeted, “Hello everyone!”

“Hello, state your names and your question.”

Maya said, “Well, to put it simply, we are the media team behind the MiracleBlog, the blog for bringing the news of our heroes. And our question is: what makes a person a true hero?”

Beetle Bug responded first, taking the lead, “Ah, that’s a good question! Personally, I think it takes great courage and perseverance is what drives a hero to take action. Even if it seems like we are cornered, we never give up, even with the lowest possibilities.”

Kuro Neko nodded and said, “I have to agree with Beetle. I would like to add that, as heroes ourselves, we fight, not because of winning or losing, but because it's the right thing to do.”

Rea commented with a bright smile, “Inspiring words! Thank you, MiracleBlog’s team for giving out your question.”

The team waved and farewelled cheerfully, “Goodnight!” And with that, the call ended and the screen transitioned from it to the next call by Rea. “Alright, next caller.”

The screen changed into a camera recording a large group of children and nurses of a hospital. Beetle smiled, seeing the familiar faces from when his team visited the hospitalized kids earlier today. The group greeted, “Hello!”

“Welcome! Seeing that this is a local children’s hospital”, Rea said, “please state your question.”

One of the nurses in a navy blue uniform, who stood behind the children, asked, “Well, our question is: how can we be heroes ourselves?”

Kuro Neko turned to his partner and stated, “I have to say, so many good questions, huh Beetle?”

Beetle nodded in agreement and responded, “Really good. Well, you can start by being an everyday hero! Try to make a difference in your community. You can make a new friend, donate to charity, pick up litter, anything can make a long-lasting impact! You can do it anytime, to anyone!”

The same nurse smiled gratefully. “Thank you so much for your efforts. Before we end this call, we would like to thank you for coming to visit the children here in the hospital.” All the kneeled kids reached out from their side to pick up small posters, all filled with crayon drawings, but all of them presented in bold, “Thank you!”

All the kids smiled and yelled out, “Go, Team Miracle!”

“Oh stars...”, Beetle whispered while the cat only let out a “Wow”, both surprised by the adoring children.

“Thank you for calling in”, she said and ended the call, bringing the screen back to the broadcasting logo. Rea turned towards the heroes and said, “Those are all the callers we have available during this time but there is still a chance for more calls later this evening. How about some of our own questions?”

Kuro nodded, “Of course, proceed.”

She pulled up her notes and picked one that seems simple enough. “Let’s see, are there any other superheroes than you two?”

“Other than us, we have Jade Shell, another member of our team. Otherwise, that’s all of us”, the cat rushed to answer.  _ (Except for Master but we can’t tell her that.) _

Rea swiped up her notes on her iPad, switching into a new card. “Now, a big question: how did you get your powers?”

This time, it was Beetle’s turn to respond vaguely, “Um, well, we aren’t sure ourselves. They just came to us, I guess.” Stars, he could feel his hands sweating.

“But they must’ve come from somewhere, right?”

Kuro Neko lends his partner a hand. “Let’s just say, we don’t have a definite answer.”

Porter’s eyes seemed strain but she cleared her throat as she picked out a different question. “Um, alright, how do you spend your everyday life as a civilian?”

_ Keep it vague _ , Beetle reminded himself. “Well, we spend it as anyone would. We have hobbies and jobs, spend it alone or people close to us.”

A silent moment passed by and Rea tried to follow up the question to keep the conversation going, “Is there anything specific that you’d like to do?”

“Well, um”, the spotted hero started but paused as he wasn’t sure how to answer.

Neko responded for him, “I’m afraid we can’t answer that.”

Rea, feeling a bit hesitant, changed the subject, “Right. Well, how much time have you spent living here in the city?”

_ (Keep it vague, keep it vague.) _ Beetle nervously smiled for the camera and answered, “Well, we can’t exactly remember but we know every street there is.” 

After that, it only laid another awkward silence.

She heard the producer warning her in her earpiece, “The ratings are starting to go down, you have to bring it up.” Then, a text message was sent to her pad, instructing her on what to do.

"Um, Beetle Bug, Kuro Neko?", Rea brought their attention as she followed along with the message, “Well, actually, a lot of fans think of you as a couple of superheroes, but also, and I quote-unquote, as a  _ couple _ , period.”

Beetle Bug blurted out, “What?”

Kuro Neko joined into the confusion, “There must be some kind of misunderstanding, we are not a couple.”

She ignored this and asked, “Can you confirm that you’re dating, here tonight?”

Kuro Neko politely denied, “I’m very sorry, Miss Porter, but we are superheroes. We are not here to answer such personal questions.”

Beetle included, “We’re here to ensure all of Kurain City that they are safe and it’s only a matter of time before we defeat Dark Moth. That’s all.”

Rea gulped and heard the producer hiss in her earpiece, “You told me you had an inside scoop!” She was definitely in deep water.

“Fine. How do you explain these photographs then?”, she asked as she swiped her pad with her finger, changing the screen to a gallery of pictures. The first photo was one taken far away but clearly showed Beetle Bug and Kuro Neko walking together in the rain with a single umbrella in hand. The next photo that was presented showed a more close-up photo of Kuro Neko being tangled in a mess of yoyo string with Beetle laughing at the sight. The third and last one was a photo of Beetle smiling and Kuro Neko in the background holding a small yellow daisy.

Instead of tragedy, the hero pair looked more confused about the evidence being presented. They were walking in the rain because it was too dangerous for either of them to be out in patrol with a thunderstorm approaching.

That other memory, Kuro Neko accidentally tripped on Beetle’s yoyo string that was laying around, and in the process of trying to get himself untangled, he ended up with the opposite. Beetle only laughed only because he saw the similarity of a cat playing with yarn, even though Neko wasn’t pleased for his partner not helping him at all.

The last one was after an Akuma fight where the public crowd began to applaud them for their hard work. Beetle laughed because a kid nearby did a stupid pun but he couldn’t help but smile. Behind him, a young girl with dark hair and green eyes gave a daisy to Kuro Neko as a small gift but his subtle pollen allergy got the better of him, sneezing all of the sudden. All these photos were edited to make it seem like they were together, all filled with lies.

Rea pointed out, “It’s so obvious that you both are in love.”

Beetle denied her statement, “These are just a bunch of photos taken out of context. We are only doing our jobs. We are saving the city together every day, we’re not a couple!” Kuro Neko slightly nodded in agreement.

She nervously giggled, “There’s no need to lie.”

“Why would we lie?

Her lips tightened, not sure how to lead him to confess but the thought of it all made her uncomfortable. She stood up and asked Beetle like she was begging, “Why won’t you tell the truth?”

“It is the truth, Rea”, he truthfully answered, remaining in his seat.

Rea Porter briefly eyed the production room, sensing their pressure on her, and forcefully said, “Come on, the audience awaits your answer.”

“I-I…”, he stammered, unable to control the shake in his voice. ( _ Say something! Anything if you have to!)  _ As much as he tried opening his mouth, he paused and his lips tighten once again. He could sense the audience watching him, beyond the lenses of the camera, all waiting for him to speak. Everyone expected him, Beetle Bug, the hero that can do everything, the perfect protector, to say something.

His palms began to sweat, even under his suit, and started to tremble. He tightened them into a fist for it to stop, but it didn't. He couldn't say anything. He couldn't think of anything.

_ (Just make it up and say that you are! It will be over soon.) _ But his head slightly shook, barely noticeable for anyone to see. He couldn't lie, not for something he is being falsely accused of. He couldn't hide the truth.

His head spun as he slightly panted heavily, trying to reach out for air.

_ "Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!" _

_ "No, I didn't do it! I swear it wasn't me! I swear!" _

_ "You are a criminal. A coward running away from their crimes." _

_ "No, please don't hurt me! I really didn't do it! Please stop!" _

_ No one was there. All young Phoenix saw were shadows with glowing white eyes, looking down at him and pointing with echoing accusations.  _

_ "Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!" _

_ He was alone. Trapped. _

_ No one was there until… _

“That’s enough.”

Beetle froze, brought back from his nightmare by a firm command. He looked up next to him to see his partner, standing tall and protective.  _ (Kuro Neko?) _

Kuro Neko exhaled and his eyes focused on the people of the studio. He said, “We are both grateful for the nice hospitality and supporting audience. However, there’s one thing I’d like to state: We are all human. You and me, we all have a life to fully fulfill. But we also have the right to have a private life as superheroes. As humans, we aren’t perfect and care for the people we loved, platonic or not. We acknowledge this, which is why we fight for the city because we know people out there who have a family to go home to, friends they want to spend another day with.” 

He directly turned to the camera and he continued, “We appreciate the support but all we ask is for you to stay strong against Dark Moth and to believe there is a way out. Just as we have answered your questions.” Then, there was silence, not one person let out a sound. There was only a buzz of the running equipment. He looked up to the secret upper room and glared, perhaps acknowledging the producers inside. After that, he turned back to Rea Porter and ended in all politeness, “And if there aren’t any further questions, then we shall take our leave. Good evening.”

He signaled Beetle Bug to come along and stepped off the stage, walking past the shocked staff. Beetle got up and awkwardly said, “Uh, right. Good night.”

He sped up after his partner and out the studio doors with no one stopping them from behind. They walked down the dead silent corridor with either of them saying anything. Beetle looked at the cat, trying to make eye contact but not once did his head turn. Even as they made their way in the staircase, they could only hear the sound of their feet walking up the steps towards the rooftop, the opposite way when they first came in through the front entrance.

Still astonished from the scene, Beetle spluttered out, “Did… did you just…”

Kuro Neko, who walked ahead of him, finally looked back with an exhale. Right away, his face was soft, and explained, “I saw that you were quite unsettled by the situation and knew you didn’t have any choice to avoid this. The least I could do is pull us out of there.”

Beetle blinked by this action and smiled as he walked up to be side by side. “Thanks, Neko.”

Kuro Neko shook his head.“It was no problem. After all, you saved us numerous times so how else should I pay you back?” He turned to the red bug next to him and left out his fist.

Beetle followed and did a small fistbump, a small traditional moment of their partnership.

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

The studio was starting to be empty as many members already finished organizing the equipment for maintenance to come and clean. Rea Porter, walking along with her strapped heels clicking on the stone studio floor, took a close look at the equipment and cameras. 

Her hand gently passed by all the buttons remembering how her film professor taught her. She couldn’t imagine where she was now, being a reporter on one of the greatest broadcasting channels of the nation. Before, she was simply part of the stage crew. A handler of the equipment, cameras, and light. She has loved her career as she felt part of the team since her role was as important as anyone else’s. 

There were setbacks like when her toxic boyfriend physically abused her during college or how her proud single mother passed away just after Rea received news of her employment as a stage crew member. It has been so hard for her but she made it through. She was granted a restraining order for his ex and had accepted her mother’s death. She even remembered how her mother would tell her how Rea has always been fascinated by listening to people’s stories when she was young. So during her grieving, she decided on making a podcast and recorded stories of her mother and her childhood, a dedicated memory of their close relationship.

At the time, she recorded her episodes in the janitor’s closet during her spare time, secret and perfect for her recording. It wasn’t until one of the producers, Veronica Harsh, came into the janitor’s closet to grab a roll of paper towels to find Rea cross-legged on the floor with her small microphone and laptop. 

Before Rea knew it, she worked under her as her student, taught on how to be a good reporter. At first, Veronica acted rough as she restricted her on some activities but Porter assumed that Mrs. Harsh wanted her to act more professionally. And when the producer offered her an opportunity to start her own celebrity show, she was beyond thankful as she finally found a miracle from the pain. 

There were many drafts she proposed but Mrs. Harsh rejected every idea, always having an excuse of why it wouldn’t work.  _ Probably the audience wouldn’t like it _ , Rea thought every time, doubting herself entirely. Then the appearance of the heroes led the broadcasting networks to go haywire, trying to scramble for the great story. 

And that included her. 

But then the first reporter, Cindy Stone from Channel 13 got there before she did, and then that Maya Fey from the MiracleBlog. She never got her chance to shine as people began to focus on the superheroes than anything else. But today? Today was another miracle when she emailed the heroes on the public city hall website and they accepted to have an interview with her. Today was the day and yet, it felt all wrong. This wasn’t how she wanted to talk to them.

“That was a complete disaster!”, a voice cried out.

Rea Porter flinched from facing the camera to her boss, Veronica Harsh storming towards her. Her stern showed on her pale complexation with her twisted red lips against her black straight hair. She tried to explain, “Ma’am, I can explain-”

“Not only did you let them leave, but ruined the interview by not following our questions that we left you!”, Harsh snapped at her, not letting any explanation be let out.

Rea stepped back but came into her defense, “You know what? They’re right, those questions are too personal! We all deserve to have our own secrets to ourselves sometimes!”

The producer snarled, “And don’t you speak another word-”

“An interview should never make a guest feel uncomfortable!”, Rea continued, interrupting her mentor completely and waving her iPad that she had, “People have already dealt with so much in their lives and the greatest thing an interview can do is let them talk freely at their own will! That’s the whole point, to get to know them, not force them to reveal their entire souls!”

Furious, Veronica Harsh yelled, “That’s it! This is officially your first and last primetime show!” Stunned, Rea Porter froze as the producer stormed past her and towards the studio’s doors. Before she left, Harsh said, "You're fired.”

The doors slammed shut, leaving the reporter standing alone in the echoing room.  _ (No. My dream, which I’ve worked so hard for, is all gone. Gone.) _ She dropped her tablet as she slumped to her knees unable to take on the news. Streams of tears rolled down her face as she guilted herself for being a failure. A failure in her career. A failure of being strong. A failure of making her mother proud.

Within seconds, her world crashed as well as her dreams.

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

On the other side of the city, a dark lair’s window opened to let in the shining moonlight while butterflies flew in glee through the midnight air as it surrounded the room.

Dark Moth stood tall with his tall cane and declared with his voice bounced in his lair, “A reporter losing their crown behind the digital screen. The perfect prey for my Akuma.”

Letting a white butterfly land on his hand, he grasped it with his other hand, letting the miraculous power to its job, swirling the butterfly with dark energy. Letting go of the dark creature, he instructed it, “Fly away my little Akuma and plunge them in the midnight silence...”

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

Rea looked down at her wrist where the rating watch went down to zero, its digital bars turning black.  _ (It’s all because of these stupid ratings!) _ She angrily tried to take it off but then, a dark Akuma flew in and merged with the bracelet.

“Prime Queen”, a deep voice presented itself in her head, “I’m Dark Moth. I can give you the power to create the greatest show on broadcasting television history. In exchange, I ask that you bring Beetle Bug’s and Kuro Neko’s miraculous.”

Rea Porter stiffly stood up and reached to grab her tablet. She pulled a creepy smile as she accepted, “I’ll show the world the greatest story ever told.” She laughed as the dark energy flowed around her, crowning her the new ruler of live television...

\- ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ - ⋅ -

Beetle tight roped across Kuro Neko’s stick, extending from one building to another over the busy evening traffic. “We should probably choose our interviews a bit better.”

Kuro Neko, who was already at the other side, said, “Despite it, Miss Porter seems like a respectful person. That is, without the producers pushing her so much.” He extended out his hand to help Beetle come to his side.

Grabbing onto his partner’s hand, Beetle jumped off the baton and onto the pavement. Beetle agreed as the cat picked up his stick, “Yeah, it isn’t her fault for asking those questions. Hope she has better luck.” As they walked across the rooftop together, Beetle wondered if there was a way to make it up to her, without any more interviews, of course. An idea clicked and he opened his yoyo into his email. “Maybe she can work for Channel 13, she has great potential. I’ll see if I can send an email to them.”

Kuro Neko nodded in approval, “It’s the least we could do for her.” Passing by the skyscrapers with a large advertising screen, he glanced up to the sky that was soothed in a light purple shade. He commented, “It’s a bit strange being this early in the night.”

The spotted hero followed his partner’s glance to the sky momentarily. “It really is and I’m a bit hungry. Wonder if the Star Snack cart is around here?”

Kuro Neko blinked. “What’s the Star Snack cart?”

Beetle stopped in his tracks and dramatically turned to him in a shocked expression. “You don’t know?!”, he asked and slightly remarked, “Okay, one of these days, we’re going to do a whole city tour for you.”

Interrupting their conversation, the screen on the nearby skyscraper glitched into static and flickered into video footage of a woman with bright red hair and in a cyan bodysuit. She announced, “Welcome everyone to a new show hosted by me, Prime Queen. ‘Don’t be bemused, it’s just the news!’” 

Her voice… They exchanged a stunned look and muttered as she crackled from the screen, “Rea Porter?”

Prime Queen continued, “Tonight, Beetle Bug and Kuro Neko disappointed all their loyal fans by refusing to admit their love for one another. I’ve prepared some trials just to see how far they’re prepared to go to keep the truth hidden from us.” 

On the screen behind her, she switched it to a live footage of inside a subway train. She jumped into the screen, transporting her into the train. As a flying camera follows behind her, she proceeds to snap her fingers at the terrified people around her, and out of nowhere, they are all tied up in the electrical cable, taken hostage by the akumatized victim. 

Once she reached the driver’s cockpit, she wrapped him up and shoved him along with the other trapped passengers. With the camera focusing on her, she announced, “Welcome to the  _ Subway of Suspense _ ! When it reaches 70 mph, you can say goodbye to your precious civilians!” She pulled the speed lever, its speedometer rapidly increasing higher and higher. 

62 mph... 65 mph...

“Well well, look here!” Prime Queen presented her rating watch attached to her arm, showing the orange bars and yellow bars appearing, “The ratings are rising! More and more of you want to know if your superhero friends will get here on time! The suspense is surely  _ killing _ them!” She crackled terrifyingly as if she was a robot in control.

“Beetle Bug, Kuro Neko, are you willing to travel through the screen to save these passengers?”, she challenged the heroes, knowing that they will be watching.

Kuro Neko extended his baton, sticking it through the screen in which it successfully went in. “Ready for the leap?”

Beetle wondered, “What if it’s a trap? Or we could catch the train before it reaches the end of the line? I think I’d rather get there by my own means.”

Neko contradicted him, “There are many subway lines in Kurain City, totaling 140 miles of rails. If we want to get there on time to save them, I don’t think we have a choice.” Beetle firmly nodded. They walked a few meters back to get a running start. In full speed, they ran to the rooftop’s ledge and jumped into the screen, teleporting through the electric pixels to the other side.

They crashed into the last train car, entering from the large advertising screen next to the exit backdoor. They jumped up and stood in their defensive stance as they expected an incoming attack. They stopped to see many of the passengers were tied up in their seats, defenseless and scared. At the other side of the car, Prime Queen stood with a pleased smile on her face. She exclaimed, “You’re about to be the stars of the highest-rated show in all of TV history!”

Beetle said, “The Akuma has to be in her watch. I’ll deal with her.”

“I’ll deal with the door to the next car.”

Beetle Bug went first, trying to strike Prime Queen with his yoyo, but she backflipped into the screen, vanishing to the other side with the yoyo only to break the screen.

Kuro Neko slid past and grabbed hold of the door handle and it wouldn't click open. “We’re trapped.”

Laughing on the multiple screens, she instructed, “The rules of my show are quite simple: admit the truth while on TV that you’re dating and in love and I’ll stop the train.”

Beetle confronted her, “A superhero never lies, we won’t admit to something that’s not true.”

“I want my scoop!”, she screeched in a rage before the screen turns black, leaving only the sound of the train racing down the tracks.

“We first have to get everyone off this train", Neko said to Beetle. They made their way to the backdoor and pulled the small window open and climbed to the top of the car. 

With the train at such a high speed, they quickly sprang into action. Beetle grabs his yoyo and launches it around at the last car. Being successful to grab hold of it, he jumped onto the tunnel wall and wrapped the yoyo string on the large pipes and wires for support. He pulled the string with all he had, trying to slow the train down. 

Meanwhile, Kuro Neko ran across the top of the metro, making his way to the first car. By the time he landed the 3rd car, he peeked further down the railway to see a nearby station platform coming. He rushed to the first car and took his baton, extended it in a tunnel way leaving the platform. The train strained itself into a halt against the stick, its metal wheels screeching against the railway. They don't have much time. 

Taking his yoyo back, Beetle Bug returned with Kuro Neko to the last car to free everyone from their cables and urged them to get onto the platform with the time limit in their hands. The pair went to every car to repeat the same process until they made it to the first passenger car. While they barely finished helping the last passenger off the train, the baton suddenly snapped and the train rushed down the tracks once more. Neko rushed to the right doors of the train and caught his flying baton from the air before the doors closed, shutting it tightly.

Kuro Neko went to all the doors to see if they opened but they didn't budge. Beetle Bug tried every window in the car but they were shut tight as well. The glass was too thick to smash. Now they were the ones who were trapped.

The screens frizzled in static until it revealed Prime Queen once more, with a wicked smile on her face. She announced, “My dear viewers, you’re in for the reveal of a lifetime!”

She laughed and panned the camera to a wooden box. She opens it to show Maya Fey, who was trapped in heavy metal chains as she cried to the heroes, “Help me, please!”

Prime Queen shut the lid before Maya could say another word. She dramatically gasped, “Oh wait, isn’t this the girl that started the famous MiracleBlog, the first one to ever film Beetle Bug and Kuro Neko?”

Beetle panicked, “No, Maya!”

“The trial still stands: admit your love, right here, right now", she instructed once more.

Kuro Neko takes Beetle Bug by the shoulders and faces them away from the screen. Using American sign language, he signed,  _ "We could use my Cataclysm to get the door open."  _ Luckily, they learned it for private moments like this if they needed to communicate.

Beetle shook his head and signed in response,  _ "No, wait, we might use it for a better time." _ He looked back to see the box being chained up with the same chains Maya was trapped in. He signed,  _ "A life is at stake and we are trapped here." _

Kuro Neko stopped for a moment and he signed the suggestion,  _ "We just have to go along with it." _

Beetle nodded and they faced Prime Queen who waited for their response. Beetle surrendered, “Alright alright. Fine, I guess I can't hold on to our secret, Kuro Neko.”

With no hesitation, they both reached out for each other's hand, linking them together as one. Beetle falsely confessed, “We… are a couple. We fell in love when we first met but we kept it a secret. I’m sorry, my Neko." He looked at his partner and gave him a wink.

“It’s not your fault. You were always so loyal", Kuro Neko winked back, playing along with the act.

To add some flavor to this charade, their hands moved on to holding each other's arms, bringing them even closer together. Beetle's head rested on Kuro’s shoulder and begged to the screen, “Please, just let her go.”

Prime Queen instead giggled, enjoying the moment to its fullest, and said, “Our two heroic lovebirds are revealing true love, our viewers are going crazy! But the TV ratings haven’t maxed out yet, you must do better!” 

Beetle challenged her, “Then come and join us, Prime Queen. You're the host and the star of the show, after all. Then, you’ll have your ratings.”

She paused, wondering what to do but then a dark voice inside her head instructed,  _ "Lure them to give you their miraculous" _ . 

She said on the screen, “My show, my rules! How about we give you another test?” Her finger tapped on her chin, thinking what it could be. Then, her fingers snapped when an idea came to her head. “Ah, yes, the perfect declaration! Your next trial: confirm it once and for all with a  _ kiss _ !”

“What?”, Beetle Bug blurted out.

“Unless you want to see your biggest fan in deep water!” She snapped once more with a screen behind her, switching the park scenery to show a bridge above the city’s lake. With her high-heeled foot on the edge of the box, she slowly pushed it into the screen, letting it go through the other side with one-tenth of the box hovering over the water.

Beetle protested frantically, “Just a moment-”

“Not until a kiss or...”, she said as her foot pushed more and more the box deeper into the screen with only a half of it went into the other side.

The spotted hero's hand tightened around Kuro Neko's arm, panicking on what to do. He probably was stressing out so much that he didn't notice what he was doing. Neko acknowledged this however and he gulped as he had a risky plan.  _ (Beetle Bug’s going to hate me.) _ He stopped her, “Hold on. Can it be any form, right?”

Prime Queen’s foot stopped and she gave herself a moment to think. She shrugged and replied, “I guess. As long as it is a kiss.”

“I suppose with that answer…” Kuro Neko turned to Beetle whose face was beyond confused about what he was up to. The cat took his partner's hand in his and he bowed down as he said, “I must confess, my lucky bug," he leaned over and gave a tender kiss on Beetle's knuckles and confessed, "I have never been happier ever since I met you.”

_ (Oh stars… what in the universe is going on?!)  _ Despite his knuckles being gloved, it wasn't technically a real kiss on his hand, but  _ oh stars _ , Beetle Bug couldn't stop his face from turning as red as his suit. His partner can be a bit charming at times but,  _ stars above _ , he was never this daring before. 

Turning back into holding hands, Neko tightened his pinky finger around his partner’s, assuring him it’s all part of the act.

Prime Queen giggled at the scene and exclaimed, “The truth is revealed! And I was the one that caught it on tape! This blogger is nothing anymore!” She pulled the box away from the screen and switched it into another one, showing Maya's empty bedroom. She shoved the box and the screen turned black once it had gotten through.

From behind his partner's back, Beetle Bug opened his yoyo to its phone mode, into his messages where he turned on the drawing-to-text function. He wrote in guardian language,  _ "Maya is free. Destroy all technology. Text twice if you have her." _

The yoyo quietly beeps twice with two new messages, in which the hero finally sighed in relief.

“However, you won’t be able to catch me!”, Prime Queen dared as she laughed, causing all the screens to crack except for one. The single large screen only showed static with no view of the other side.

Kuro Neko reasoned as they let go from each other, “It could be a trap.”

“But there is no other way! If we stay, we won’t survive", Beetle argued and briefly showed him Mia’s messages, “Jade Shell is ready to prevent the train from destroying the last station on the line but we will crash within the forcefield bubble if we stay.”

Without much of a choice, his partner nodded firmly. “Okay, be ready then.”

They jumped into the static void, into the unknown of the other side. They dropped into the floor of a new room. They pulled up and saw their surroundings. Shelves full of boxes of frozen food and small icicles dropping from the ceiling. They could even see their own breath in a frosty cloud. 

They stopped and realized they were in a walk-in freezer. 

"We're trapped", Neko said and walked over the nearby thermometer attached to the wall. The level was dropping from 40 degrees Fahrenheit to 39 within seconds. He converted it to Celsius (around 4 degrees to 3.8) and informed his partner, "Temperature is decreasing rapidly."

"There has to be a way out", Beetle exclaimed, his arms holding his shivering body. Beetle looked around for the exit and stopped a door lever behind several crates. He pointed, "Quick, those boxes, help me move them!" They went in the direction and moved the box to the side, revealing the freezer door. Beetle grabbed hold of the lever and tried to pull it with no success. Kuro Neko helped him and it still didn't budge. They even tried pushing it but nothing worked. "Still locked!"

Recalling his first aid survival instructions, Beetle told the shaking cat, “Rub your hands. Preserve your warmth.”

As they did, they turned back to the screen where Prime Queen watched them in her triumphed expression. She commanded, “Remove your miraculous and reveal your true selves! The whole world is watching you.”

Kuro Neko signed to Beetle,  _ "Should I use my Cataclysm?" _

Still shivering, Beetle signed back,  _ "No, we can probably use it as our advantage." _ He looked around, seeing if they could use something to help.

Prime Queen crackled as she exclaimed, "That's not all, my viewers! In five minutes, large amounts of liquid nitrogen shall pour in and turn our heroes into ice sculptures! Boy, doesn't that send  _ chills _ down your spine?" She looked upon the freezing heroes. “Hurry up you two, don’t want to keep your audience waiting!”

Kuro Neko asked, his voice shaking from his short of breath, “What...what do we do?”

Beetle rubbed his arms, his mind rushing to think of something, anything, that could help them get through this. He glanced down and saw frost building up to his spotted boots. He gulped as he saw that their suits were the only thing keeping them alive. For now, at least. He took a deep breath and responded, “The only thing we can do.”

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

**“Lucky Charm!”**

With the flick of his wrist, his yoyo was launched into the air as magic ladybugs swirled above it, constructing the object needed for the task.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

A roll of spotted tape fell to his hands and he winced once he caught it as his frosted fingers began to feel numb. He could feel his face crawling with ice flurries and shakingly wondered, “What...am I supposed to do... with this?”

Kuro Neko rushed over to him and rubbed his partner's arms, trying to transfer warmth to his body. He said, “Think, Beetle Bug... Return to the basics... and think it through...”

With that, Beetle looked around for clues,

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

The tape

All the dozen boxes on the shelves

Kuro Neko

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

“Of course!”, he exclaimed and rushed towards the boxes behind him, scrambling to find what he needed. “I need...a few minutes...”

“That’s too long!”

Prime Queen agreed as the timer on the clock was counting down, “Listen to the cat.”

Beetle instructed his partner as he searched more boxes, “Look at the boxes... in your left and find some light cardboard paper. But only look at your section...don’t move around as much.”

They both sprang to their feet, moving from one box to the next as the timer reached the last 2 minutes. Kuro Neko called out, taking out empty pizza boxes from a box, “Found some.”

Tossing it to Beetle, the spotted hero rushed over to the screen and covered it with the cardboard, wrapping it all together with the spotted tape. Confused, Prime Queen was met with the dark screen, no view of the other side.

Kuro Neko's voice came from the darkness, “Well… looks like you won’t be able... to get our miraculous after all.”

“We’ll...uh...cuddle up, you know… all lovey-dovey… while we are unmasked", Beetle added.

Prime Queen looked over to her timer and her watch, its bars turning greener. Her ratings were barely there and she had a few minutes before the liquid nitrogen poured in. She had time. She punched through the screen and the cardboard.

Beetle went for her arm, pulling Prime Queen through the screen and slamming her into the freezer floor. Neko used the baton and cracked the screen preventing her from escaping.

She tried to launch at Beetle but Kuro snapped his baton in half and punched her head with a swing. Beetle swiped his leg to knock Prime Queen off her feet and restrained her onto the ground. Kuro pressed down on her hands with his boots and with the tip of his baton, he broke the watch, letting the Akuma fly out. All that was left was the exit.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

**“Cataclysm”**

Black energy whirled around his single fist, bubbling for destruction.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

Neko’s hand pressed on the door, making it crumble into cinders. Dragging the victim out with his arms, he followed Beetle out of the freezer and into what seemed like a grand hotel kitchen. Beetle looked around and found the Akuma fluttering nearby.

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

Beetle opened his yoyo into purification mode with the swipe of his finger and swung in circles, 

**“No more evil-doing for you, little Akuma... Time to De-evilize!”**

With the swipe of his yoyo, he brought the captured Akuma back in the palm of his hand,

“ **Gotcha!** ” 

Pressing the middle spot, the yoyo opened to release the now purified butterfly,

“ **Bye-bye, little butterfly.** ”

Finally, he launched his lucky charm into the air to repair the damage that has been done,

“ **Miraculous Beetle Bug!** ”

~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~ ⋅ ~

Magical ladybugs spread across the city, fixing the screens and the destroyed metro, all back into their initial form. After that, they returned to the kitchen, rebuilding the freezer (without the liquid nitrogen trap) and bringing warmth back to the heroes. Finally, it swirled around the victim, bringing back herself again.

Rubbing her head from a dizzy spell, her eyes widened to see the heroes and her in an unexpected setting. "My, what happened?"

Kuro Neko lends a hand to help her to her feet and explains, "It's alright, Miss Porter, we were able to save you from Dark Moth."

"Wait, you mean, I was akumatized!", she gasped in devastation, "Oh, stars above, what have I done?"

Beetle Bug shook his head as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "It isn't your fault, Rea. You became a victim of Dark Moth and for the majority of the cases, his victims aren't aware of their actions during an akumatization and don't see what's really happening", he clarified. "But the important thing is that we were able to rescue you. You’re safe now."

Looking at them, Rea slightly nodded in understanding. "I see, all these people were victims and Dark Moth did manipulate me." She held a breath and apologized, "I acknowledge what I have done and I'm sorry." She smiled and gave her gratefulness, "But I'm glad I was saved by you two."

"Let's give you a lift back to the studio", Neko guided them out of the kitchen. Once they reached the rooftop, Beetle Bug held the reporter in one hand while he grabbed hold of his yoyo. As the three of them bounced from rooftop to rooftop, Rea couldn't believe what was happening.

Flying across the city and over the roads was such a unique experience that not anyone without superpowers can experience. She felt mildly lightheaded, sure, but it was the type of feeling that you experience when you ride a rollercoaster, all with its twists, turns, and even hills.

Finally arriving at the studio, Beetle Bug gently placed her down onto the ground as she exclaimed, "Woah! That was one crazy ride!"

The spotted hero shrugged, "We got used to it."

Her smile shined brightly but when she glanced back to the door, she frowned, remembering the event before she got akumatized. She returned her gaze and explained, "Unfortunately, I got fired from the show and I'm afraid I don't have a job anymore." 

Beetle and Neko exchanged a look, a sense of shared guilt painted on their faces but Beetle paused for a second and opened his yoyo. "Rea, you have great potential to be a reporter. I actually emailed another channel company if this ever happened. We are deeply sorry for the trouble we caused you. And just in case you can't get your job back", he pulled up an envelope from his pouch mode and handed it to Porter, "there's another opportunity for you."

The reporter opened the envelope and scanned the letter to see that it was an invitation for a job interview. She glanced at the two of them, touched by their act of kindness, "You guys did this for me?"

Kuro Neko said, "Everyone deserves a better chance in life."

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!", she exclaimed as she cried tears of joy, giving them each a grateful hug. "This means so much to me."

"Glad we can help”, Beetle answered cheerfully for being able to help but his earrings beep to warn his time limit. "Looks like I'll have to excuse myself, Rea." He turned to his partner and asked, "Meet up at the usual spot?"

"Right. See you there.” Kuro Neko shakingly nodded as if he remembered something...

In return, Beetle said, "Well, Bug Out!" And with that, he leaped from the ledge and into the air, swinging into the streets down below.

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

The eerie silence swirled around the moonlit lair while the glowing butterflies flew around their owner like a soft hurricane. Dark Moth stood tall with his dark cane with his head full of thoughts.

“One day, your timer will run out and you will lose everything you have ever risked for. Beetle Bug, Kuro Neko, you may have saved yourself in the spare of seconds but can the same be said in the future? What will happen if you run out of time?”

His evil laughter echoed on the lair walls while the circular window shut the room into the darkness.

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

  
  


At the usual building that they hanged out, Kuro Neko paced across the pavement, his increasing nervousness getting in his head. The building nearby barely chimed at 6 am and yet, he felt like weeks flew by. He shook his head and decided to sit on the stone bench, determined to keep himself calm. But even so, his finger tapped on the stone, unable to hide his anxiety.  _ (Stars, it’s all my fault. I kissed his hand without his consent! There is no doubt he hates me now...) _

“Hey.”

The cat looked up to see his spotted partner standing next to him. He guessed that he was stressing so much about the hand kiss that he didn't notice Beetle Bug swing in. He muttered back, “Hey.”

  
  


Beetle Bug took his spot next to Kuro Neko as a swift of silence passed by. More seconds passed by as the awkwardness and tension gradually built up in between them.

Beetle, twirled his fingers, unsure what to say but muttered, “Look, about the train…”

They turned to each other and blurted out, “I’m sorry-” The pair stopped once they realized that they both spoke up at the same time. They stammered simultaneously, “Oh…”

Another dead silence. 

Kuro Neko looked down into his hands that were placed on his lap and began to say, “My deepest apologies, Beetle Bug. If I made you uncomfortable, that is for me to blame.”

Beetle sprung and waved his hands in denial. “No no, I should be the one who should apologize. I...I guess I wasn’t thinking straight...it’s just that there was a life at stake-and-”, his words mixed up from his thought and in defeat, he sighed and said, “I shouldn’t force you into a position like that.”

“You didn’t have a choice. We were stuck there and Miss Fey was trapped, on her own. What else can we do but put an act?”, Neko justified his partner’s actions with his eyes still glued to his hands.

Beetle lightly nodded but that same thought came back to his mind, 

_ ‘I have never been happier ever since I met you’ _ . 

He gulped with his cheeks warm, which he supposed was from embarrassment for questioning such a moment, and asked, “When you were, you know, with the ‘kiss’ thing, what you said. Was it true?”

Kurp Neko, looked away, unable to face him, and reasoned, “Why would I lie to you? I saw no point upon doing so.”

“So you were happy?”

The cat paused for a second and said, “ Remember when we faced Soul Threader and you said those words to Pearls?”

Beetle nodded, remembering his partner’s response to it after the fight. “Of course.”

Kuro Neko exhaled. His face still turned away and his hand clutching on his arm. He replied, “I was, as you would probably word it, a lone black cat of misfortune. Bad luck has always caught up to me, even if I had everything I wanted. I wasn’t happy and the only closest person out of all the people around me during that time was a dear family member. Then, I met you.” 

To Beetle’s surprise, Neko finally turned to him, his steel eyes soft and his smile became warmer. He continued, “To be honest, I didn’t expect much from you other than being a partner. But you became more than that. A friend, who is willing to listen and to give me company. Because of you, I had something to look forward to. I acknowledge that our identities shall remain a secret and have these personal boundaries. For that, I shall respect it dearly in my soul. However, if you say otherwise, then I’ll wait for your instruction to do so.”

Beetle was astounded by his response, unexpected of his words but his lips turned into a wide grin. “Thank you for understanding. You have always been by my side since the beginning and I can never be more grateful than that.  _ You and me against the world? _ ” He let out his fist, offering a declaration of his oath.

Kuro Neko blinked but let out his fist with an admiring smile.  _ “Always and forever.” _

**“Pound it!”** , they said in unison.

“To tell you the truth, I’m not tired”, Beetle Bug chuckled in his confession.

Kuro Neko nodded. “You aren’t the only one then. Which is good.”

Beetle Bug raised a brow at him and asked, “Huh, why?”

The cat hero stood up and offered his hand. “Come and I’ll show you.” Beetle was still confused about what his partner meant but he curiously smiled and took it.

Hand in hand, Kuro Neko guided him to the balcony of the rooftop and explained, “I know that you always had to leave early for your personal life and I always stayed until dusk. Well, there is always one thing that I looked forward to during these times.” His hand let out, letting them the site of the horizon.

The sky began to color in the warmest hues, oranges and yellows blushed together against the purple sky. From the edge where the sky meets the land, a small ball of light appears, and with it, golden rays of light. The sun grew brighter and brighter while it climbed across the sky. The crisp of dawn into a new day, a new ray of hope.

“Oh, Neko. I...I’m lost for words", Beetle gasped, taken in by the sight.

Their hands leaned on the low brick wall, still linked together. Kuro Neko took note of this, blushing at the physical contact. 

He shook his thoughts. No, he could have these feelings, these unnecessary ridiculous feelings that he has named them before. As much as he was a superhero, he was still Miles Edgeworth. Manfred von Karma wouldn't allow it. Sure, he might've wondered why he was never attracted to the girls he was forced to dance with and was more interested in talking to the boys in any of the galas back in Germany. Franziska was the same except the other way around; she was more interested in the girls.

When von Karma confronted him about not entering into "courtship" or dating in his language, he got it away last time because these girls were  _ "already taken" _ or  _ "were bland to his interests". _ The excuses felt right before as he thought,  _ Perhaps I didn't find the right one _ . As much as he tried, however, he was never attracted to them, no matter what personality or physical appearance was formed. Even if all the men stared at the most beautiful woman in the room, Miles wouldn't give any care in the universe. He thought he wouldn’t have these feelings anymore, having a man to interact with.

And yet here he was, standing on a rooftop of Kurain City as the colorful dawn rose. Here he was, his hand being held warmly by Beetle Bug's. Here he was, unable to take his eyes off his partner, seeing how the glowing beams of the sun caught in his feathery hair. 

Or how the hidden freckles underneath his spotted mask formed like constellations across his skin.

Or how his sapphire eyes sparkled with warmth, hope, and pure happiness. 

He couldn't stop feeling giddy inside. He couldn't stop his cheeks from feeling warmer and warmer. He couldn't stop being mesmerized by him, captivated by this site.

_ Oh _ , to be able to have a dream. It sounded ridiculous, preposterous! He could even hear Franziska’s voice, saying it was foolish! Despite it all, he couldn't help the possibilities. All for a wish for his dream to come true. Unlikely? Sure.  _ Impossible? _ Absolutely!

But being here with his partner, he thought of all the times they fought together as a duo. Beetle risked everything and yet, they triumphed because he believed in a small candle of hope, believing in the impossible. Neko even started to learn to believe in his actions but to be given a chance to dream about being with him is so much more. To dream of a future where they are beyond best friends. A future where they can be more than just partners...

He glanced at the sunrise and thought of something else. Beetle Bug was the light of hope that shined in his darkness, just like how the sun blooms from the midnight sky. Beetle Bug was the sunshine.  _ His _ sunshine. 

He smiled warmly, remembering what he promised for his partner. He was beyond grateful to have this friendship, this special partnership. But, if the day comes, when they reveal themselves for the first time, his dream of their relationship becoming something more will be there waiting for him. He finally said, “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

"It really is", Beetle Bug agreed and turned to his partner from the sunrise, “Thank you, Kuro Neko.”

As they enjoyed the view of this gorgeous dawn, their linked hands remained together, soft and tender in their touch. As it was a brand new beginning for them, for the city, as they knew that as a team, they are sure to defeat Dark Moth. To end it all and bring a new light of hope for the future. Their bond will bring this hope until time shall rewind into a new possibility that neither one of them expected...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Episode: The Timed Turnabout
> 
> Thank you once again for enjoying the series and don't be afraid to leave a comment! Love to read them <3
> 
> Check out my linktree for the AU Guide pdf and my other social media where I draw fanart and have other AUs. I'll try to post the next episode by the end of this month.
> 
> Have a good day/night and stay Miraculous!


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